GNSS Anti-Racism Commitment Statement Update

September 3rd, 2021

Dear Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing (LSBFON) community,

We, the members of the Graduate Nurses’ Student Society (GNSS), would like to express our unfaltering solidarity with all marginalized populations that have been discriminated against this past year and beyond. Systemic racism permeates all facets of our institutions and our society and as such, we are unequivocally denouncing all forms of racism, prejudice, injustice, and inequity that occur within our faculty, our profession, and our society. As a student group, we strive to be an equitable and inclusive community that supports the human rights of all persons, based on compassion, mutual understanding and respect for diverse cultures, religions, and ideas. GNSS continues to honour and respect the diversity that is seen within our community that includes but is not limited to gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, nationality, disability, religion, class, and socioeconomic status. This statement is a formal acknowledgement of our commitment to be an ally to all marginalized groups and honour the principles of equity and social justice that are central to the nursing profession.

As a student organization, we have made advancements in supporting and spearheading panel discussions surrounding various equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) issues. Although we are committed to creating a supportive environment that uplifts EDI initiatives, we acknowledge that there are long roads ahead in our mission of cultivating an inclusive, diverse, and equitable space for all graduate nursing students. This past year, GNSS has done the following to support our EDI goals:

  • Development of the inaugural GNSS Black and Indigenous Award with the goal of raising $50,000.
  • Black Futures Month webinar series.
  • Anti-Asian racism and discrimination panel discussion event.
  • Highlighting the work of healthcare leaders in Indigenouscommunities’panelevent.
  • Supporting the newly developed EDI committee at the University of Toronto’s Bloomberg Nursing department.
  • Contributed to the Curriculum Committee Working Groups (e.g., Indigenous Health Nursing Working Group and the Black Health Equity Working Group).
  • Collaborated with the University of Toronto’s Bloomberg Nursing department to create a confidential student disclosure framework.
  • Development of a Sr. EDI Director position on the GNSS executive team and in the process of implementing an inaugural Jr. EDI Director position for the 2021-2022 academic year.

We want to continue our efforts to serve as a pledge of our ongoing commitment to end systemic racism, discrimination, and inequities. As a student organization, we value the ongoing journey of learning and (un)learning our commitment to break down racist and structural barriers which impede students in achieving their full potential. At GNSS, we will continue our efforts to promote equity in nursing education, supportEDIinitiatives, and uplift the voices of our diverse student population. We welcome any suggestions and constructive feedback to better support the LSBFON community.

Sincerely,

Graduate Nurses’ Student Society (GNSS) 2021-2022

GNSS Anti-Racism Commitment

We, the members of the Graduate Nurses’ Student Society (GNSS), would like to express our unfaltering solidarity with the Black community and all of those involved in the afront against anti-Black racism, white supremacy, and police brutality. We are saddened and outraged by the ongoing racist and violent acts towards the Black community taking place in our world today. Systemic racism permeates all facets of our institutions and our society and as such, we are unequivocally denouncing all forms of racism, prejudice, injustice, and inequity that occur within our faculty, our university, and our society. Take this statement as our commitment to be an ally to the Black community and honour the principles of equity and social justice that are central to the nursing profession.

We would like all graduate students to know that we will show up for you, we respect you, and we value you. We acknowledge anti-Black racism and its profound consequences that the Black community continues to shoulder, and their deep resilience and capacity to mobilize and address injustice. The GNSS commits to self-learning in addition to fighting to achieve equitable education for all. We extend this commitment to all students at the Faculty of Nursing, both undergraduate and graduate. Please know we will stand with and support you the best that we can. We will no longer tolerate any racism that affects any member of our community.

We acknowledge and appreciate Dean Linda Johnston’s Anti-Racism Statement; however, as part of our commitment we are requesting further accountability through tangible strategies to help combat systemic racism. As such, we are calling for accountability from the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, and the University of Toronto at large, and we hope to see prompt and thoughtful change. We are requesting the Faculty of Nursing to quickly implement the following actions to address systemic racism imbedded within our faculty:

  • Form a curriculum review committee to evaluate all nursing curricula at all levels with the aim of addressing racism that is currently present.
  • Form a committee to review the hiring of faculty and staff to ensure equitable and diverse representation within the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing.
  • Review admission procedures for all programs hosted by the faculty to ensure admission strategies that support the applications of Black and Indigenous students.
  • Implement a formal process to address microaggressions and racism that students may experience within the faculty. We want this process to be such that students feel safe from any form of reprisal against them.
  • Include more Black and Indigenous nursing leaders in faculty curricula and events.
  • Increase support for PhD students who wish to explore systemic racism and anti-Black/anti-Indigenous violence through doctoral research.In addition to the above, we will do the following to address systemic racism within the Faculty of Nursing and the GNSS governance structure:
  • Immediately appoint a Diversity & Equity Director for a term until the next GNSS general election.
  • Amend the GNSS constitution to create the permanent position of a Diversity & Equity Director, who will be elected in GNSS general elections beginning in the fall of 2020.
  • Include Black and Indigenous nursing leaders at our events (e.g., lunch and learns).
  • Hold an annual Black History Month event.
  • Work with students to support the U of T Anti-Racism and Cultural Diversity Office’s“Reflect. Restore. Action” web-series, where students will be invited to share their livedexperiences surrounding race.
  • Obtain feedback from graduate students on how to adequately engage them on issuessurrounding race.
  • Explore the creation of an annual award for Black and Indigenous students from GNSS’operating budget, or other means.We want the above actions to serve as a pledge of our ongoing commitment to dismantling the long-standing social structures that have resulted in systemic racism which negatively impact our students.Sincerely,Graduate Nurses’ Student Society

Health & Wellness Resources

As we approach the end of Fall term, GNSS realizes how this can be an especially difficult and stressful time for students. Graduate school is hard. It is important that we take care of ourselves, maintain balance, and speak to someone if we are distressed.

Here are some resources available to all students:

Our first Lunch & Learn this year was on Health & Wellness for graduate student.  Great information can be found in the presentation posted and available on Quercus.