A law firm hired to investigate claims of racism and hostile work conditions by five employees concluded that no laws were broken, but it criticized the college for a slow response to inappropriate behavior.
An eight-week investigation conducted by outside law firm Renne Sloan Holtzman Sakai LLP concluded that claims made by the employees “did not rise to the level of violating anti-discrimination laws.”
It did say, however, that there was inappropriate behavior in the workplace. Findings included racially offensive noises over hand-held radios, racial slurs, insensitivity and bias. SWC administration was blamed for poor management and not doing enough to address the problems when they were first reported.
Earlier this year custodians Roderick Curry, Thaao Streeter, Eric Matos, Mark Gutierrez and PC Systems Technician Johnny Blankenship signed a letter that charged the college with specific complaints of institutional racism and discrimination. Complaints included dead rats and human feces placed in lockers, the word “nigger” written across the forehead of a photo of President Obama, and monkey noises on radios directed at African-American custodians. The letter was also sent to the NAACP, Assembly Member Dr. Shirley Weber, former dean Dr. Donna Arnold and some African-American faculty.
After the letter was published in The Sun (Feb. 14, 2015), college president Dr. Melinda Nish responded with a global email that said the charges were old and had already been dealt with. College trustees, led by Governing Board President Norma Hernandez, insisted that the situation be investigated.
Weber met with Hernandez and Nish to discuss the accusations in the letter. Later they met with Assembly Member Lorena Gonzalez. Trustee Humberto Peraza also met with Weber.
California School Employees Association (CSEA) President Andre Harris said the poor management was the most important problem.
“It’s a management issue more so than I think it was a discrimination issue,” he said.
CSEA Vice President Silvia Lugo agreed.
Last spring Harris, an African-American, wrote a letter published in The Sun that said he had no personal experience with racial discrimination while working on campus. He said he received a death threat in the mail after his letter was published.
Public Information Officer Lillian Leopold said turnover in the SWC Human Resources department contributed to the inadequate response to the complaints made by the employees. Former VP of HR Dr. Alberto Roman left unexpectedly for another job and Director of Facilities John Brown resigned before he was to be terminated.
Recommendations made by the law firm are underway, according to the summary of findings released by the governing board. Changes include radios with identifiers to avoid anonymous hostility, outfitting custodians with uniforms to avoid being misidentified, changing the management of custodial staff, and implementing campus-wide sensitivity training. Custodial staff and college management have completed the training. Faculty, hiring committee members and classified staff training are scheduled training during the 2015-16 academic year. Revisions of board policies, which include harassment and discrimination, have been partially completed, according to the statement.
Custodian Rick Allen said he was optimistic about the training and relieved administrators will not try to sweep racial tension under the rug anymore.
“Sometimes it takes a strong voice — like our custodians’ letter — to help us remember that we cannot rest in our fight against prejudice and bias,” read the summary.
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Following is a excerpt from the statement issued by the Southwestern College Governing Board following the release of the findings of the investigation into hostile and racist behavior on campus:
“Our campus community is one of the most diverse college campuses in the state. We strongly support the principle that diversity and our community is built upon a foundation of fairness, equity, equality and respect.
We are, however, not blind to the fact that prejudice and its harmful effects remain, even here. As a result, we take our legal and ethical duty to take appropriate steps to prevent discrimination seriously, and our goal is to be an institution that models workplace inclusion, equity and equality.
Despite our best efforts, however, there will be occasions where members of our campus community believe they or someone else have been discriminated against. At those times, it is important that both victims and witnesses know they have a place within the College to speak up and seek help. When they do, it is critical that the College has well-trained personnel and effective practices in place to actively listen to them and take timely, appropriate responsive action.”
