A Message to the West Valley-Mission Community
Dear Colleagues,
As an educator, mentor, and a parent, my primary responsibility is to help younger people understand and transform their communities and themselves. Each year at graduation, I try to implore our students to turn the volume up on their social engagement because the world is looking to them for leadership like never before. With many of us two and three times their age and experience stunned to watch a nation overcome by the crisis of a pandemic, the greatest depression, and the revolting reality that racial equality in this country is a myth, I can only imagine how our students are feeling.
The profound sadness and outrage engulfing our country over the killing of George Floyd is justified. The social protests are a necessary, cathartic expression of frustration and anger over the way in which the national dialogue on equity has been seemingly stifled - or worse - at every juncture by the current White House and the lack of meaningful, sustained progress in furthering inclusion and denouncing racism in our country’s history. I know that I cannot shed the privileges of my particular identity, but I -and all of us- can live in solidarity with those who are rightfully fearful, serve as allies for one another, and stand up for the common good. It’s not enough to be outraged without action. At West Valley-Mission, our most important, transformational actions take place in our classrooms and with our students as we grapple with how to use the privilege of education to help build a more just world.
I am confident, however, in our academic community’s unwavering commitment to equity and social justice, and our capacity to support our students and lead our communities toward the future they deserve. The academy will always be the best place to cultivate the seeds of societal change. As President Obama said, “We are the change we seek.” I know that we can count on each other to be outspoken advocates for change in our classrooms and beyond the boundaries of our campuses. At West Valley-Mission, we all can and will, from any assignment or academic discipline, be the leaders that our students, our community, and our country need.
I know that many of us remain in contact with our students throughout summer and even after graduation. The colleges and district have a number of formal activities designed to provide for the care of our community, ongoing examination of these issues, and to chart a path forward, but I encourage you to reach out directly and check in with students, see how they are doing, and offer your support and advice. Let’s help our students contextualize media reports, discover books and scholarship outside the curriculum, engage in activism and protest, get involved in the political process and register to vote, and most importantly, be the change.
Respectfully,
Bradley J. Davis
Chancellor
West Valley-Mission Community College District
