Diversity Resources and Support

Contact information for the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is available by clicking Our Team.

The following materials are used to increase awareness of different perspectives, values, and practices.  We also provide a limited funding opportunity for events and activities centered around identities and experiences that include, but not limited to: race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, age, disability, religion, and health.

Diversity Resources

The calendars below are meant to serve as a scheduling guide. It lists the top 4 most significant holidays from the largest global faiths and traditions. This is not a comprehensive list of religions or holidays within any group, students or employees may choose to observe a holiday from any tradition not included on the calendar.

Religious Observance Calendar Summary
Various calendar systems exist and the religious observances scheduled within one calendar system may shift dates when incorporated into another calendar system.

Buddhist

  • Buddha’s Enlightenment Day
    December 8
    Also called Rohatsu or Bodhi Day. The day many Buddhist traditions celebrate the enlightenment of the Buddha.
  • Buddha’s Birthday
    April 8
    The birthday of the Buddha.

Christian Catholic/Protestant/Eastern Orthodox

  • Christmas
    Catholic/Protestant: December 25
    Eastern Orthodox: January 7
    The birth of Jesus Christ
  • Ash Wednesday
    February 22, 2023 / February 14, 2024 / March 5, 2025
    This day marks the beginning of Lent, a six week period of prayer and fasting in anticipation of Easter.
  • Good Friday
    Catholic/Protestant: April 7, 2023 / March 29, 2024 / April 18, 2025
    Eastern Orthodox: April 14, 2023 / May 3, 2024 / April 18, 2025
    The day Jesus was crucified.
  • Easter Sunday
    Catholic/Protestant: April 9, 2023 / March 31, 2024 / April 20, 2025
    Eastern Orthodox: April 16, 2023 / May 5, 2024 / April 20, 2025
    The celebration of Jesus being raised from the dead.

Hindu

  • Diwali
    November 12, 2023 / November 1, 2024 / October 21, 2025
    Festival of Lights. This holiday is typically celebrated by families sharing various traditional rituals in their homes.
  • Holi
    March 8, 2023 / March 25, 2024 / March 14, 2025
    Festival of Spring or Festival of Colors. This day starts the night prior and typically celebrated by families in India, Nepal, and other parts of Asia by partaking in various regional traditions.

Jewish
Holidays begin at sunset the night before a listed calendar date and end at sundown the calendar day.

  • Rosh Hashanah
    September 15-17, 2023 / October 2-4, 2024 / September 22-24, 2025
    Jewish New Year begins on the sunset of the first night and ends at nightfall of the last day. It is the beginning of a ten-day period of introspection and reflection.
    Instructor Tip: The evening before and the first listed calendar evening begins the observance and work/assignments/deadlines should be avoided.
  • Yom Kippur
    September 24-25, 2023 / October 11-12, 2024 / October 1-2, 2025
    Day of Atonement. It is the holiest day of the Jewish calendar marked with fasting, worship, and repentance.
    Instructor Tip: The night it starts is known as Kol Nidre and work/assignments/deadlines should be avoided.
  • Sukkot
    September 29 – October 6, 2023 / October 16-23, 2024 / October 6-13, 2025
    Festival of Booths. Commemorates the wandering in the desert of the Israelites as well as the fall harvest. While the festival of Sukkot lasts for 8 days, the first two and last two days are considered days of rest.
  • Passover
    April 5-13, 2023 / April 22-30, 2024 / April 12-20, 2025
    Festival of Passover. It commemorates the Exodus of Jews from slavery in Egypt. While the Passover lasts for 8 days, the first two days and last two days are considered days of rest.

Muslim
Holidays begin at sunset the night before a listed calendar date and end at sundown the calendar day.

  • Ashura
    July 29, 2023 / July 17, 2024 / July 7, 2025
    Shi’a Muslims commemorate the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali, Muhammad’s grandson. According to Sunni Muslims, Muhammad fasted and asked others to do so on this day as well.
  • Ramadan
    March 23 – April 20, 2023 / March 10 – April 9, 2024 / February 28 – March 30, 2025
    The ninth month of the Islamic lunar year and is the time in which Muslims observe fast from sunrise to sunset. It starts the evening prior and ends the last evening posted.
  • Eid al-Fitr
    April 22, 2023 / April 10, 2024 / March 31st, 2025
    Marks the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting, and the holiest month in Islamic tradition. It starts on the evening prior and ends the evening of the day posted, it literally means “breaking the fast.”
  • Eid al-Adha
    June 28, 2023 / June 17, 2024 / June 7, 2025
    Festival of Sacrifice. Commemorates the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son Ishmael. God provided a sheep to sacrifice in Ishmael’s place. It starts the evening prior and ends the evening posted.

Religious Observation Resources

  • Extensive lists of world religions is available at InterfaithCalendar.org or the Anti-Defamation League Calendar website.
  • A simplified list is available within Washington at Common Religious and U.S. Public Holidays. Many students and employees miss school and important events to honor their religious and spiritual practices. The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction has provided a calendar to raise awareness about religious holidays practiced across the state of Washington and includes the following religions: Islamic, Hindu, Jewish, Baha’i, and Christian religions.

Racial/Ethnic/Gender/Sexuality/Age/Ability/Health Monthly Focus provided by: Anti-Defamation League, Diversity Central, and Library of Congress.

January: Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, National Poverty in America Awareness Month

February: African American History Month, American Heart Month, Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month

March: Women’s History Month, Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, National Deaf History Month (Mar 13-Apr 15), Irish-American Heritage Month

April: Autism Acceptance Month, Holocaust Remembrance Month, Scottish American Heritage Month, Arab American Heritage Month, Sexual Assault Awareness Month

May: Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Older American’s Month, Jewish American Heritage Month, Haitian Heritage Month, Stroke Awareness Month, Celiac Awareness Month, Military Appreciation Month

June: LGBT Pride Month, Caribbean-American Heritage Month, Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month

July: N/A

August: N/A

September: Hispanic/Latino Heritage Month (Sept.15-Oct.15), Prostate Health Month, Yoga Month, Pain Awareness Month

October: Cultural Diversity Month, LGBT History Month, Disability Employment Awareness Month, ADHD Awareness Month, Filipino American History Month, Italian American Heritage Month, German American Heritage Month, Polish American Heritage Month, Aids Awareness Month, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Bullying Prevention Month, Domestic Violence Awareness Month

November: Native American Heritage Month

December: N/A

The following links below provide guidance on dealing with discussions centered on difficult issues such as racism, politics, and tragedy.  There are also workshops offered on these topics within our own Faculty Commons.

  • Teaching in Difficult Times (U Cal Berkeley): “This page provides helpful classroom ideas for dealing with tragedies and crises.” 
  • Difficult Dialogues (Vanderbilt U): “This guide seeks to help teachers feel more confident leading difficult dialogues by encouraging reflection on how such discussions connect with larger learning goals, and by providing specific strategies and resources that teachers can use to create more productive conversations in their classrooms.” 
  • Current Events in Your Classroom (FacingHistory.org): While not a university and aimed more at K-12 teachers, this site has a lot of discussion about addressing specific events. 

  • Live Another Day – Extensive information on mental health and substance use resources for people of color. Their mission is equal access to life-saving resources. They have guides for black, Latinx, Asian, and native people.
  • Detox Local – An extensive list of mental health and substance use resources specifically for the AAPI (American Asian and Pacific Islander) community.

Below are the links to the new/updated guides: 

Bellevue College Library Resources

The following identity-based materials may include text books, comics, graphic novels, poetry, magazines, and other reference sources:

Washington State Council of Presidents provided a press release in Sept. 5, 2017, that we will support our undocumented students. We also have guidance concerning immigration enforcement provided by the Attorney General, Bob Ferguson. All students are protected by FERPA and it “does not contain an exception for federal immigration agencies.  Therefore, requests from these agencies to disclose student records or personally identifiable information contained in student records should be denied unless a FERPA exception applies (p.34, guidance concerning immigration enforcement).  Exceptions include judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena, which requires well enough in advance to give the student and/or parents time to seek a protective order. If the judicial order or subpoena specifically orders the school to refrain from such notification.

(ICE Procedures PDF)

Bellevue College processes ensures our staff that we will do the following verification procedures from an ICE Agent’s visit:

  • Documents provided are signed by a judge.
  • Properly identifies the agency with authority to search.
  • Correctly identifies the search location(s).
  • Includes the correct date and has not expired.
  • References a specific person; if so, allow ICE to contact or question only that person.

After Hour Visits from ICE protocol:

  •  The AVP of Student Affairs, at (503) 567-9185

Resources

CISC (Chinese Information Service Center)

CISC is part of the Coalition on Hate & Bias supported by King County and they are working to collect reports on hate/bias to develop strategies in response. I know that our students have been targeted in anti-Asian Covid hate incidents. It would be great to make this resource available to them.

https://cisc-seattle.org/report-an-incident-of-hate-or-bias

The following acknowledgement statement was created by a Bellevue College faculty member, Christina Sciabarra. We want to recognize this goes beyond a gesture. It becomes meaningful when coupled with an authentic relationship and informed action. This beginning offers an opening to greater public consciousness of the history of labor that includes reconciliation.

If you choose to include a Labor Acknowledgement statement within your syllabus, please follow the information, guidance, and resources provided.

LABOR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT STATEMENT

We also pause to recognize and acknowledge the labor upon which our country, state, and institution are built.

We remember that our country is built on the labor of enslaved people who were kidnapped and brought to the US from the African continent and recognize the continued contribution of their survivors.  We also acknowledge all immigrant labor including voluntary, involuntary, trafficked, forced, and undocumented peoples who contributed to the building of the country and continue to serve within our labor force.  We acknowledge all unpaid care-giving labor .

Finally, we acknowledge that our institution relies on hourly, student, contingent, and unpaid labor and we recognize those contributions.

MOVING BEYOND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

  • Recognize how labor is valued in both compensated and uncompensated. Practice of mindfulness and appreciation for work done by others regardless of social status, income, or executive power.
  • Discuss oppression and privilege in your class to disrupt hierarchies of power and control.
  • Make connections to the environment and the impact it has on people, health, wellness, and community.
  • Recognize people as contributors of the workforce and identify the contributions of people(s) without power or control within curriculum content.
  • Recognize the power of representation within the curriculum content and challenge it with resources/readings/references of different work contributions of voluntary, involuntary, trafficked, forced, and undocumented peoples who contributed to our labor market.
  • Facilitate students learning about different forms of work and visit different working environments outside of the classroom.

Acknowledgment alone is simply a gesture. It becomes meaningful when coupled with an authentic relationship and informed action. This beginning offers an opening to greater public consciousness of Native sovereignty and cultural rights, a step toward equitable relationship and reconciliation.

If you choose to include a Land and Territory Acknowledgement within your syllabus, please follow the information, guidance, and resources provided.

WHY INTRODUCE THE PRACTICE OF LAND AND TERRITORY ACKNOWLEDGMENT?

Offer recognition and respect. Counter the “doctrine of discovery” with the true story of the people who were already here. Create a broader public awareness of the history that has led to this moment. Begin to repair relationships with Native communities and with the land. Support larger truth-telling and reconciliation efforts.Remind people that colonization is an  ongoing process, with Native lands still occupied due to deceptive and broken treaties. Take a cue from indigenous protocol and open a space with reverence and respect.

LAND AND TERRITORY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT STATEMENT

“We pause to acknowledge that Bellevue College resides on the traditional land of the Coast Salish Peoples that includes but is not limited to: Snoqualmie, Suquamish, Muckleshoot, and Tulalip Peoples past and present.

 We remember their connection to the region and recognize their suffering due to systemic oppression, displacement, and other acts of colonization.  

Although we may be working or serving in other areas, we make this acknowledgment and remember the land our institution is built on, is stolen land. We commit to care for the land and center equity at the core of our (un)learning and reclamation of truth. We further commit to using our expanded education and agency to acknowledge injustice AND work to make systemic change in support of Indigenous rights.”

MOVING BEYOND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

  • Recognize how colonialism is an ongoing process and that the practice of mindfulness and reverence of the land is indigenous protocol.
  • Discuss oppression and privilege in your class to disrupt colonization and assimilation.
  • Make connections to the environment and the impact it has on people, health, wellness, and community.
  • Recognize people as caregivers of the land and identify sustainability practices in curriculum content.
  • Recognize the power of representation within the curriculum content and challenge it with resources/readings/references of different thoughts/behaviors/people.
  • Facilitate students learn about different cultures and visit different cultural spaces outside of the classroom.

PDF available for Land and Territory Acknowledgement 9.13.2019

Faculty and staff at Bellevue College are invited to participate in a campaign to show your acceptance, support, and protection of a student and/or family member that discloses themselves as undocumented.

WHY BE AN UNAFRIAD EDUCATOR

We believe schools should be safe spaces that embrace all students and families, regardless of citizenship, national origin, unaccompanied children, and refugee status. The 1982 U.S. Supreme Court case Plyeler V. Doe ruled that undocumented children have a constitutional right to receive a free public K-12 education, which provides a means to become a “self-reliant and self-sufficient participant in society.” We hold this to be the “fundamental values necessary to the maintenance of a democratic political system.”

Flyer that indicates faculty as an unafraid educator that stands for undocumented students as an employee at the college.

  • The 8 White Identities, by Barnor Hesse, an ethnography on whiteness that breaks down the white gaze and behavior.
  • Race Traitor, who taught you to be white? a podcast of a Jewish lesbian that participates in upholding white supremacy culture. Reflects on identity and upbringing to challenge whiteness.
  • Whites, Jews & Us, by Houria Bouteldja, described as a “polemical call for a militant anti-racism grounded in the concept of revolutionary love.”
  • Survey for White Artists by Latham Zearfoss & Ruby T,
    compiles white artists’ responses to questions about locating whiteness within your work and the effect it has on your white identity and practice?
  • Seeing White, by John Biewen and featuring Chenjerai Kumanyika, a podcast primer on the “buried” history of whiteness.
  • White Fragility, by Robin DiAngelo,
    Explanation of white fragility and what you can do to fix it.

Anti-Defamation League (ADL) – symbols most frequently used by a variety of white supremacist groups and movements.

Understanding Hate – Nine insights on hate from psychologist Agneta Fischer and her research on this searing emotion.

Diversity Support

Equity Funding

The Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (OEDI) has limited funds to assist with events that address equity, diversity, and inclusion. Limited funds are available for professional development with a requirement to provide service hours to the college.

Please note: If a contract is needed for the funding request, the requestor is responsible for completing all the contract forms, in a timely manner. Contract processing can take up to five weeks.

Three payment options exist (it depends on situation):

  1. Pay out of pocket, and submit reimbursement form to our office.
  2. Purchase Card may be used, requires visit to office to complete.
  3. Submission of an A19 payment to Finance, visit office to obtain budget number.

Click here to continue and complete request form

A committee of employees and students are supported by the College to utilize the knowledge, awareness, and skills of our community to facilitating change within our teaching and learning experiences.

Thank you to our employees and students that made this possible

Retreat Attendees (June & July):

Donna Miguel; Clifford Cawthon; Bonita Corliss; Jen Anderson; Ethan Anderson; Teresa Descher; Elizabeth Zahrt Geib; Rachel Wellman; LaMeshia Reese-Taylor; Cathy King; Yu-ting Su; Sue Nightingale; Tonya Estes; Jorja Gunderson; Gary Locke; DucMinh Le; Caroline Leffall; International Students Association; Fabiana De Assis; Cora Nixon; Carlos Marquez; Rebecca Chawgo; Marisa Hackett; Becky Turnbull; Jennifer Pang; BSU Coordinator; Chiew Jones; Jody Laflen; Kattie Dang; Stephanie Hurst; Gail Mcfarland; Brenda Ivelisse; Suzanne Moreau; Cesar Rangel; Megan Watson; Albert Lewis; Sajonna Sletten; Suzette Yaezenko; Eric Davis; Vanessa Lora Garibay; Warda Zaman; Jesse Gardner; Ronald Holland; Belle Nishioka; Marlowe Zoller; Zak Yousuf; Aron Segal; Oriana Estrada; Kanthimathi Radhakrishnan; Laura Nudelman; Rodger Harrison; Renee Nejo; Gabriel Brown; Laeticia Nkinsi; Robert Viens; AJ Duxbury; Cara Diaconoff; Beabe Akpojovwo; Lisa Lapointe; Kevin Allen; Mingzhen Wu; Rebecca Cory; Leslie Lum; Sapan Parekh; Elizabeth Harazim; Gita Bangera; Sara Gardner; Christina Sciabarra; Barbara Brodsky; Judith Hernandez Chapar; Glenn Jackson; Kristen Jones; Juan Esparza; Dennis Curran; Henry Amaya; Eva Juarez; Katie Bates; David Lopez-Kopp; Kim Pollock; Nan Ma; Brandon Lueken; Jill Powell; Isaiah Cole; Esteban Maldonado; Abner Pagunuran; Claudia Payne; Miranda Kato; Ellen Nichols; Iulia Zavodov; Jennie Mayer; Lindsay Haney; Jacqueline Miller; Pavy Thao; Liz Hollerman; Valencio Socia; Jordana Gouveia; Sharon Walia; Tammi Doyle

Proposal Committee (October):

AJ Duxbury; Miranda Kato; Karen Jo Fairbrook; Tammi Doyle; Jorja Gunderson; Sara Gardner; Rebecca Cory; Christina Sciabarra; Gita Bangera; Caroline Leffall; Sajonna Sletten; Ronald Holland; Zak Yousuf; Jordana Gouveia; Megan Watson

Guidelines Committee (December):

Megan Watson; Sajonna Sletten; Jordana Gouveia; Caroline Leffall; Christina Sciabarra; Sara Gardner; Gita Bangera; Jorja Gunderson; Miranda Kato; Rebecca Cory; AJ Duxbury; Tammi Doyle

Last Updated September 27, 2024