Faculty and staff listen with rapt attention as current SCCC Eastern Campus honors student Jaime Pascal-Felix and recent SCCC Ammerman Campus graduate Ana Fuentes explained the ways in which our becoming more “JEDI” makes a very real impact in their lives. (photo by Christina Vargas)

“Well, after hearing him question the very existence of tenure, that candidate definitely doesn’t have my vote for endorsement.”

As an FA officer for the last 16 years, I’ve seen this union from a variety of angles. I have been involved in community outreach and social justice initiatives, academic work such as the Distance Ed Committee, numerous professional development committees, constant communication projects and other union work such as grievance, negotiations, Benefit Fund trustee and our Local Action Project.

Of all these activities, perhaps most intriguing are the screenings that our political action committee conducts for local endorsements. These political screenings, I suspect, would be eye opening for many of our members but particularly when we periodically (fortunately not often) meet a candidate for Suffolk County Legislature who reveals that they really don’t think very highly of our faculty.

Of course I’m well aware that Suffolk is a diverse county and of course we will meet people who don’t love educators and who don’t love unionists. And yet it still surprises me, even time I hear the covert—or at times even overt—criticisms. One that crops up fairly reliably is the idea that faculty at SCCC don’t work hard, don’t care about students and we are really just here to feather our own nests.

Enter JEDI

The lazy, self-serving, overpaid and underworked teacher is old trope. Every time some incoming/hopeful politician invokes it, however, I want to invite them to attend our summer JEDI Institute.

I would love to have them meet some of the over 100 colleagues who have participated in at least one of our six-hour summer sessions of the JEDI Institute since our pilot in 2021. Now in our third year, we continue to see dozens of faculty show up each summer—voluntarily, uncompensated and on their own time—to quite simply learn how to be better at their jobs.

These faculty know that the JEDI Institute aims to help SCCC employees develop specific, concrete ways to make our daily workspaces more just, equitable, diverse and inclusive. They are taking advantage of the space, time and resources to reflect on their work and develop individual plans for how they can make their work more “JEDI.”

Don’t take my word for it. In addition to viewing the JEDI Journey videos, you can also hear the following colleagues describe why the JEDI Institute matters, thanks to our dedicated videographer and JEDI board member Carl Coulanges:

• Jared Dowd, Associate Professor of Counseling, Grant Campus
  
• Danna Prather Davis, Assistant Academic Chair of Communication, Literacy, and Media Studies, Ammerman Campus
  
• Dionne Walker-Belgrave, Affirmative Action Officer, Legal Affairs

In addition to improving and enhancing their own practices, Chief Diversity Officer and JEDI co-founder Christina Vargas adds, “We trust that each of our JEDI participants will continue to strengthen their network and share resources, best practices and expertise with all of us as we continue to grow in our understanding of racial equity and its importance for SCCC.” 

This summer’s institute was particularly moving, as two students came to explain the ways in which our becoming more JEDI truly is transformational for students. Eastern Campus honors student Jaime Pascal-Felix explained that he has encountered teachers in the past who had more of a sink-or-swim mentality toward students, leaving students to struggle without the guidance they needed. SCCC professors who work diligently to get to know and support students, Jaime noted, make an enormous difference.

Recent SCCC graduate Ana Fuentes got her start in the ESL program, not knowing a word of English. As she slowly but surely progressed, one professor encouraged her to try an Honors class, which helped her understand that she truly belongs at SCCC. After receiving several college scholarships and being a finalist for the prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship, Ana is now a proud Stony Brook University student who is eager to see more SCCC faculty offer such encouragement to other students like her.

	Suffolk County Legislator Jim Mazzarella (District 3) is a solid unionist, friend of higher education and champion of the college; he expressed clear support of the FA during our screening on June 15. (photo by Cynthia Eaton)

Defy the deniers

As faculty continue to flow into the JEDI Institute and make these kinds of constant, reflective, incremental changes in their work spaces, we believe that we will see a real change in student retention and success.

It is critical that we do so, not only for the very real, tangible benefits for our most marginalized students but also to show in no uncertain terms that our faculty are showing up and doing the work that has been improving the lives of SCCC students for over 50 years. Just look at all of the photos taken by Christina Vargas during our three day-long sessions this year!

We need everyone in Suffolk County to see us rolling up our sleeves in this way and helping every single one of our students achieve measurably improved academic outcomes.

Since I plan to be around and continue engaging in these political screenings for another two decades, I assure you it would be really nice to get through a season without hearing these not-so-veiled attacks on our members.