The Anti-Discrimination Committee
The Center for Writing and Rhetoric’s Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) was created to address the inequity and experiences of oppression that permeate universities and their student services. In 2020, the CWR responded to the call for transformed pedagogy in university environments with a statement, but also created the committee alongside it to actually implement the changes that were promised. The committee is a group of writing consultants that focus on anti-racist and anti-discriminatory work alongside their consultations, including hosting regular trainings and meetings for all of the consultants at the writing center.
The Committee is dedicated to implementing anti-racist pedagogy within writing consultations and the CWR’s relationship to CGU and the 7Cs. The new Student of Color retreats occur every month since the group’s inception, and the CWR has just added retreats for the LGBTQ+ community. These retreats create opportunities for students to build connections with consultants and other students that understand the difficulties of being underrepresented and underserved at the university level. The Committee has worked to take these efforts outside the CWR and connect with student groups directly, breaking down gatekeeping processes that dissuade students from pursuing student services. With the outreach efforts, the Committee was able to connect with different student groups and assist student communities of building closed, community specific writing events and workshops on issues facing women, queer people, and BIPOC students.
The Anti-Discrimination Committee also played a role in the hiring of new consultants in 2021, prioritizing diversity work and interest in the anti-racist pedagogy. All consultants at the writing center are committed to a pedagogy of anti-racism and anti-discrimination in their consultations and work at the CWR.
This webpage contains writing resources developed by the Anti-Discrimination Committee and links to events and workshops. Please check this page out to know more about the ADC!
The Anti-Discrimination Statement
The Claremont Graduate University Center for Writing and Rhetoric (CWR) commits to anti-discrimination both as a writing center and in our connections with graduate students. In solidarity with anti-hate and global advocacy efforts toward peace, we acknowledge the complex relationship between language and systems of oppression. We stand united against state-sanctioned violence, anti-Black racism, anti-Semitism, and discrimination affecting African Diasporic, Indigenous, Latin Diasporic, Desi-American, Pacific Islander, Arab, Muslim, and Palestinian communities.
The CWR community, enriched by a diverse range of graduate students engaged in impactful research, embraces the responsibility to contribute to these movements, championing the rights and recognition of LGB, queer, trans communities, and individuals across humanity’s spectrum of races, genders, sexualities, abilities, ages, religions, classes, and nationalities. As CWR consultants, we commit to dismantling the discriminatory structures embedded within academic language and generative language tools. We understand that language functions as a powerful technology and a medium in the fight for social justice — a foundational element of liberation movements.
The CWR affirms its commitment to anti-racist practice and pedagogy through openness to dialogue and a willingness to accept critique. We recognize that our Center, while a space for learning and growth, still operates within an institution framed by Standard American English and algorithmic biases that often uphold systemic barriers. We hold ourselves accountable, responding to situations involving linguistic injustice and racism. Our approach to tutorship is collaborative and culturally responsive, and we aim to respect each student’s identity, agency, and expertise.
View the full statement here.
Statements & Resources
Additional Information
- Dean of Students Office: deanof.students@cgu.edu
- 7C.Health for 24/7 talk therapy
- Office of Disability Services: disability.services@cgu.edu
- Monsour Counseling and Psychological Services (MCAPS): 909-621-8202;
For after-hours crisis, press 1 to be connected to on-call therapist. - Chaplains (McAlister): 909-621-8685
- Chicano Latino Student Affairs (CLSA): 909-621-8044
- Office of Black Student Affairs (OBSA): 909-607-3669
- 7C Asian American Advisory Board: 909-621-8639
- Queer Resource Center (QRC): 909-607-1817
- EmPOWER Center: 909-607-2689
- Campus Safety: 909-607-2000
- Digital learning lab
- Research librarians
Benz, Brad, Kamila Kinyon, Eric Leake, and Eliana Schonberg. “Guidelines for Responding to the Writing of International Students.” University of Denver Writing Program, January 2014. Accessed January 7, 2021. Guidelines for Responding to the Writing of International Students | University of Denver (du.edu)
Davila, Bethany. “Rewriting Race in the Writing Center.” The Writing Lab Newsletter 31, 1 (Sept. 2006): 1-5. Accessed January 7, 2021. https://wlnjournal.org/archives/v31/31/1.pdf.
Diab, Rasha, Beth Godbee, Thomas Ferrel, and Neil Simpkins. “A Multi-Dimensional Pedagogy for Racial Justice in Writing Centers.” Praxis: A Writing Center Journal 10, 1 (2012). Accessed January 7, 2021. Diab, Godbee, Ferrell, Simpkins 10.1 — Praxis (praxisuwc.com).
“Inclusivity Praxis.” The Writing Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison. Accessed January 7, 2021. https://writing.wisc.edu/inclusivitystatement/praxis/.
“Inclusivity Statement.” The Writing Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison. Accessed January 7, 2021. https://writing.wisc.edu/inclusivitystatement/.
“Inclusion and Anti-Racism: Inclusive and Anti-Racist Writing Praxis in the Writing Center.” Tacoma Teaching and Learning Center, University of Washington, Tacoma. Accessed January 7, 2021. https://www.tacoma.uw.edu/teaching-learning-center/mission-statement.
Kaletka, Zak. “Putting Writing at the Center of Inclusivity.” University of Washington, Tacoma. Last modified February 17 2017. https://www.tacoma.uw.edu/news/article/putting-writing-center-inclusivity#gsc.tab=0.
“Philosophy and Commitment to Antiracism.” Cal State University, Dominguez Hills. Accessed January 7, 2021. https://www.csudh.edu/writing-center/about/philosophy-antiracism/.
“Statements of Mission, Diversity, and History.” Writing Center, Central Michigan University. Accessed January 7, 2021. https://cmich.edu/colleges/class/Centers/WritingCenter/Pages/Mission-and-History.aspx
Suhr-Sytsma, Mandy and Shan-Estelle Brown. “Theory In/To Practice: Addressing the Everyday Language of Oppression in the Writing Center.” The Writing Center Journal 31, 2 (2011): 13-49.
Villanueva, Victor. “Blind: Talking About the New Racism.” The Writing Center Journal 26, 1 (2006): 3-19.