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California State University, Fullerton
Dear Titan Family:

Cal State Fullerton has long been about the work of creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive campus. And as I hope you have experienced, in the past few years — and especially since the events of this past summer — we have set about redoubling those efforts. That said, like most institutions across our nation, we have not yet reached our goal to create and uphold a campus climate in which all faculty, staff, and students are truly free in all facets of campus life from the sting of marginalization, the injustice of unacknowledged privilege, and the pain of systemic discrimination and racism. This fact, coupled with the increase in divisive rhetoric and violence around our country, has inspired the Titan Family to more fully recognize and actualize its commitment to racial equity, inclusion, and social justice.

To further this effort, and using our Strategic Plan as an overarching touchstone to infuse equity-minded and inclusive-based practices in all that we do, a diverse team of cross-divisional leaders collaborated to develop CSUF’s Guiding Principles for Social Justice (attached and pasted below). With coherent action items that are both reflective of our past and aspirational for our future, these principles will be infused in the work of every division and college, making clear that our goal to be an inclusive, equitable, anti-racist campus remains preeminent.  

With all that in mind, and on the eve of Social Justice Week, I encourage you to read, digest, and be intentional in embedding these principles in your work. Together, and with this document as a guiding light, we can and will dismantle structural oppression and finally realize our goal to build a diverse community that values and promotes justice, equity, and inclusion for all. 

Thank you, have a great weekend, and see you next week for Social Justice Week!

Sincerely,

Fram Virjee
President

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Shivaratri makes one aware that the same Divinity is all-pervasive, and found everywhere. In our daily experiences, there are a number of instances which reveal the existence of Divinity in every person. Consider a cinema; on screen, we see rivers in flood, engulfing all surrounding land. Even though the scene is filled with flood waters, the screen does not get wet by even a drop of water. At another time, on the same screen we see volcanoes erupting with tongues of flame, but the screen is not burnt. The screen which provides the basis for all these pictures is not affected by any of them. Likewise in the life of man, good or bad, joy or sorrow, birth or death, will come and go, but they do not affect the Atma! In the cinema of life, the screen is the Atma; It is Shiva, it is Shankara, it is Divinity. When one understands this principle, one will be able to understand, enjoy and find fulfillment in life!