Student of Color Safe Space

The Student of Color Safe Space is a multi-divisional collaboration among the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs; the Division of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, and the Office of Student Success and Academic Quality within the Division of Academic Affairs. It is housed within the Division of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (DEDI), informed by the fact that DEDI is already home to several programs which support students of color, namely Keeping the Promise, the Mentoring Program, and Multicultural Student Programs; and an initiative known as the Student of Color Leadership Institute (SCLI).

The SOCSS will provide targeted and direct support for students of color; provide a safe space for students of color to chill, study and decompress; and form collaborative relationships with two critical campus departments and units– Student Success and Academic Quality, and Campus Activities — to provide direct support to students of color.

The SOCSS will also explore collaborations with the Center for Black Deaf Studies (CBDS), and with future centers for Native American, Latinx, and Asian and Pacific Islander Deaf Studies. Until then, the SOCRC will work with individual faculty members of those identities to deliver programming that addresses their respective histories and cultures. The SOCSS will eventually build virtual video libraries of these presentations to facilitate and advance student research.