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 commits to anti-racism both as a writing center and in our interactions with graduate students. In solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, we acknowledge the relationship between language and systems of oppression. We are in solidarity with movements against state-sanctioned violence and anti-Black racism. As consultants at the writing center, we commit to holding ourselves accountable, intervening productively in situations of discrimination and racism. Our approach to tutorship is collaborative and we work with respect for students’ individual agency and expertise. We take seriously our opportunities to combat how discrimination is perpetuated through structures of academic language. Language is heterogeneous and is a place of power for many movements and communities. The CGU/CWR community is filled with a diverse range of graduate students who are engaged in their own research and the ability to contribute to current movements that affect the Black community, Indigenous people, students of color, queer and nonbinary people, and students with various abilities. The CWR makes the commitment to anti-racist practice and pedagogy through affirmation, solidarity, and a commitment to openness to dialogue and critique.
We acknowledge that the CWR is a space for learning and growth, for both our consultants and our students. This statement represents the CWR’s commitment to anti-racism, but we also recognize the inability of the CWR to unlearn racism quickly and easily. This exists as a living document to be transformed by the contributions of students and discussions around racism and language. The CWR is always open to critique and it recognizes itself as a space that still exists within an institution that is structured around Standard American English. The CWR writes this statement in recognition that language, statements, and words of protest are a core component of activist movements against state-sanctioned violence and systemic racism. We acknowledge the ways incorporating anti-racism in the system of language originates from movements against oppression.
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.