Improving community supports
Actions in support of addressing Antisemitism, Islamophobia and all intersecting forms of hate and discrimination on campus
SFU is committed to creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive community where all feel welcome, accepted and valued—where community members know that their ideas, perspectives, identities and experiences are respected.
As the conflict in the Middle East continues, SFU administration has heard feedback from community members on how we support our faculty, staff and students during difficult times. We have been listening and know that we need to continue to take action to co-create an SFU where all feel safe and that we can all be proud of.
In recognition that the Equity Compass, SFU’s institutional Equity, Diversity and Inclusion strategic plan, did not directly address our work on Antisemitism and Islamophobia, we are articulating the following actions underway. Our Equity Office is already working closely with internal partners across the institution to advance these actions, which include an internal administrative review on our complaints and support processes, increased awareness campaigns of supports already in place across SFU, leadership engagement and additional training for our service providers.
Action items
- (1) Review complaint and support landscape at SFU
- (1.1) Conduct administrative review of complaint and support landscape at SFU to further simplify the experience for all needing support. This administrative review will be carried out using internal SFU resources, working with responsible policy offices to further address and advance process improvements and coordination between the policy offices. The goal is that “any door is the right door” to support people navigate SFU’s respect and safety landscape. Formal policy review and changes will follow the normal policy review process consultation in the future.
- (2) Proactive awareness campaigns
- (2.1) Continue the work of the Respect and Personal Safety Working Group with members of the Equity Office, Student Services, Campus Public Safety and policy offices who are advancing our commitment and actions to build safety and restful environment preventative education and awareness campaigns based on community feedback to date. This group will evaluate work done to-date and develop action plans for 2024-2025 that further integrates feedback received on Antisemitism and Islamophobia.
- (3) Leadership engagement
- (3.1) Supporting administrative leaders to better understand and appropriately access the support and complaint landscape in faculties and administrative units as needed.
- (4) Provide updated training to SFU support service providers on antisemitism and Islamophobia.
The following actions will support our actions to address Antisemitism and Islamophobia, alongside work already underway. These specifically build on Equity Compass Goal 1: Respect, Inclusion and Belonging Cultures and Structures. A report on actions taken/progress will be included in the Equity Compass year 1 report in June this year.
Timeline
| Internal administrative review of complaint and support landscape and information gathering to ensure we’re on the right path and supporting our community in the best way possible. | February – March 2024 |
| Faculty, staff and students invited to share feedback on this topic with the Equity Office via EDI recommendations form. | February – March 2024 |
Awareness campaigns |
Ongoing |
Leadership engagement |
March – May 2024 |
Report on actions taken/progress included in the Equity Compass year 1 report. |
June 2024 |