2020 was a difficult year in many respects. The COVID-19 pandemic left millions isolated at home with a tenuous outlook for the future. Politics had become increasingly volatile. Then, around the world, people witnessed the senseless murder of George Floyd. Although this was not the first time that minoritized communities had been plagued by the inequities of our society, it was the first time that many well-meaning individuals were unencumbered by work, school and other obligations. Fueled by anger and frustration, hundreds of thousands around the country took to the streets in protests, demanding change. The sentiment of change was echoed in the scientific community. Brittany Kamai (Physicist, UC Santa Cruz & CIT Pasadena) recruited colleagues and initiated the #ShutDownSTEM and #ShutDownAcademia movements that culminated in a day-long hiatus of all academic-related work on June 10, 2020. The main goal of this was to reflect on systemic racism in STEM disciplines and to formulate a plan of action to combat anti-Black racism within these spaces. In many respects, these movements have been successful, however, how much progress have we made to address these goals across the country and within our own department? More importantly, is this enough to make academia accessible?
In response to this most recent reckoning with race, several universities around the nation either formed diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) committees or revamped their committee’s existing goals to address these inequities. Some goals included more rigorous recruitment strategies as evidenced by University of Virginia’s DEI website (1). As of 2021, University of California San Francisco (UCSF) has dedicated two new fellowships for underrepresented minorities to cover relocation expenses. UCSF also expects all faculty to participate in a Graduate Faculty Development Program for “effective mentoring across differences” (2). Northwestern’s Integrated Biology Graduate program has highlighted current program demographics, while acknowledging ongoing efforts needed to increase diversity (3).
Besides efforts taken to increase underrepresented minorities (URMs) in graduate programs, there needs to be discussion about how to increase retention and what services URM students might need to be successful during graduate school. After observing a lower graduation rate for Latina students, a dedicated team at Florida State University (FSU) determined that familial obligations caused Latina students to miss schooling for extended periods of time. To reduce the burden for these students, FSU hired a bus company to transport students back-and-forth over the weekend (4). As scientists, we understand the importance of data, and these data-driven approaches proved vital in not only pinpointing inequities but providing a route for helping students in practical, direct ways.
The University of Texas at Austin is no exception in its DEI efforts. As a whole, many initiatives, like the Texas Advancement Commitment (5), have been praised by the public. However, DEI issues may have been less prioritized in smaller departments around the UT community. In March of 2020, a climate survey about the Molecular Biosciences (MBS) department led by Karan Watson, former provost at Texas A&M and consultant to the College of Natural Sciences, revealed that there were some perceived gaps in the diversity and inclusion area. This inspired a group of graduate students to come together and address some of these issues. While this group was still in its infancy, the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and others, and the need to root out these systemic roadblocks for minoritized students, reignited the goals of this group and SARDINES (Scientists Against Racism and Discrimination In Natural and Engineering Sciences) was born.
Their first act was to send a letter to faculty detailing a set of actionable items that the MBS department and Interdisciplinary Life Science (ILS) graduate program could engage in that would align with SARDINES’s goals of improving climate and increasing DEI efforts. Since then, members of SARDINES have been contributing to the MBS DEI committee meetings, enhancing diversity through student-elected speakers for the MBS seminar series, increasing outreach efforts, and, most notably, creating the Anti-racist Toolkit (ARTK). The ARTK, spear-headed by Alex Nishida (6th year, Ochman Lab) and created in collaboration with STEM-education graduate students at UT, has evolved into a guide of curated resources and information in a modular format that individual labs can use to address topics including “Having difficult conversations” and “Scientific Racism”. The ARTK will be ready for labs to beta-test in the upcoming weeks.
In response to national discourse about racism, the MBS DEI committee was also formed (6). The committee has been successful in responding to DEI issues, while playing a supportive role in furthering the goals of SARDINES. According to Julie Perreau (SARDINES Co-facilitator, 5th year, Moran/Barrick Labs), “increased communication [with the faculty] has been great” and it has made reaching these goals a collaborative effort. In addition, Dzifa Amengor (Student representative, MBS DEI Committee, 3rd year, Maynard Lab) detailed the new initiatives being taken by the MBS committee, including the ASCEND award and D & Icebreakers to serve as an open space for anyone to discuss DEI concerns.
On the heels of the one-year anniversary of #ShutdownSTEM and Derek Chauvin’s murder conviction, now is a good time to take stock and do an accountability check. We must use our privilege as scientists to do our part. If you want to contribute, check-in on your classmates and join groups like SARDINES. Even having an open and honest discussion about these topics is useful. No contribution is too small. Although we haven’t shut down STEM yet, we are making a start.
(1) “Department of Biology’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Plan.” Department of Biology’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Plan | Department of Biology, U.Va., bio.as.virginia.edu/DEIPlan.
(2) “DEI Initiatives.” Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, bms.ucsf.edu/dei-initiatives.
(3) “Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences.” Demographics: Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences Graduate Program – Northwestern University, ibis.northwestern.edu/diversity-inclusion/demographics.html.
(4) Hung, Melissa. “Why Colleges Already Face Race-Related Challenges In Serving Future Students.” NPR, NPR, 24 May 2017.
(5) “Our Commitment to Texans.” Texas Advance Commitment – The University of Texas at Austin, texasadvance.utexas.edu/.(6) Gregg, Ernest R. “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee.” Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, molecularbiosci.utexas.edu/about/diversity-inclusion-mbs.
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