Revised: Listen, Change, Do More

By Gabrielle Bonifacio, Communications Co-ordinator

In the Forestry Science Centre at UBC, students from the Inclusive Forestry Peer Mentor Program (IFPMP) are planting the seeds of community and easing what can sometimes be a thorny transition for new students.

Joris Jun, Program Coordinator – Asia Forest Research Centre Faculty of Forestry

The IFPMP was one of last year’s recipients of the Equity Enhancement Fund (EEF), which provides financial support for new programs fostering diversity, equity, community engagement and inclusion. Composed of 18 senior Forestry students, the IFPMP provides junior students from Forestry’s 3+2 program with a mentor to turn to for support with both academic and non-academic concerns. Forestry’s 3+2 program allows students to complete their degree at UBC after two to three years of study at a partner Forestry university in China. Joris Jun, the coordinator who spearheaded the project, was a former 3+2 student herself before she went on to complete her master’s degree and secured a position as a full time staff member at UBC.

“I was really struggling when I first came here,” Jun says, recounting the challenges from her own student experience. “Although we came here as a group, we [didn’t] really know how to get involved in Canadian culture.”

While each student is assigned an ESP (Enrollment Services Advisor), the resources provided are mostly limited, Jun explains, to matters regarding admissions, not “life.” The IFPMP was built to bridge this disconnect and provide a roadmap to help students navigate their new environment.

“For now, we focus on part academic support, part life, mental support,” Jun explains. While she sets up a minimum of monthly meetings between the students and their mentors, they’re also welcome to have more if needed. A typical schedule includes a study session followed by more leisurely outdoor activities.

“We also arrange a lot of culture events to get all of the forestry students together,” Jun says, citing the Mid-Autumn Festival and Chinese New Year as particularly note-worthy gatherings that encourage the students to socialize and get involved.

To ensure the program best served the students, Jun conducted surveys that illustrated its benefits. The senior volunteers, who Jun cites as being concerned about finding employment post-graduation, gain valuable ‘work’ experience leading small groups and planning events. Meanwhile, the juniors are able to sort through processes like course selection while gaining a sense of belonging.

“Most of them have [a] really positive reply to the peer mentor team,” Jun says, “Because they do have a lot of questions about the life here, about the study here.”

Beyond the student level, the program also provides a window for staff to get informed about the state of their students without having to check in with all 80 of them individually.

“It’s more efficient,” Jun points out. “I just need to ask the peer mentor team how it’s going and they give me feedback.”

After the program’s success with the 3+2 students, Jun says the next step is transforming it into a faculty-wide initiative, ensuring that all incoming Forestry students are supported and well-equipped to overcome the inevitable challenges of university life.

From virtual happy hours to online interviews, COVID-19 has rapidly shifted the way we work—from how we interact with our colleagues to how we hire new ones. While coping with these changes, let’s keep equity firmly in mind and at practice.

For a deep dive into virtual interviews, check out our in-depth guide into equitable practices for online interviews. 

Due to the current crisis, virtual interviews are more than the new norm; in many cases, they’re necessary to keep people safe. However, being interviewed online under a pandemic-induced lockdown comes with unique challenges, particularly for historically marginalized communities. 

Candidates may be caregivers, persons with disabilities, struggling with health and finances, or have difficult living situations. Being aware that each person’s interview may be affected by these factors is the first step in being equitable online. 

Here are some quick tips on creating a fair and equitable hiring process online:

1. Keep your process respectful, consistent and clear. 

What you do for one candidate, you must do for all candidates. This means using the same set of questions and format (e.g. virtual) regardless of whether in person meetings are possible later. If you send out information or instructions in advance, make sure that everyone gets them.

2. Do your best to accommodate. 

Depending on their situations, candidates may need to have their interview broken up into small chunks, carried over several days or rescheduled. Provide an estimated running time and schedule beforehand and ask all candidates if they require accommodations.

3. Plan ahead. 

Meet with your search committee early on to coordinate and familiarize yourselves with the technology you plan to use. Build a general consensus on the interview process (e.g. how you will ask questions, indicate follow up questions, etc.)

4. Be accessible.

Choose the most accessible remote technology possible and inform all candidates on how to use it ahead of time. If there are specific gestures you plan to use within the online environment (e.g. ‘raising your hand’ in Zoom), tell the candidates in advance.

5. Privacy matters.

Consider privacy issues and whether it is necessary to record interviews/presentations. Not all interview segments require video; in some cases, using the phone or teleconferencing may work better.

6. Bypass bias, adopt awareness. 

Review content on bias with your committee beforehand and be aware that what you see onscreen may create unfair judgements on a candidate’s appearance, family or living situation. Be conscious of stereotypes; hold yourself and your colleagues accountable when evaluating.

7. Focus on content over style. 

Factors like cultural differences, comfort with technology, and physical settings may impact a candidate’s ‘style’ and how they are viewed. Remember to assess primarily for content and challenge comments that over-emphasize style during deliberation.

8. Assign an Equity Monitor.

Consider assigning an Equity Monitor leadership role to someone on the search committee that can monitor the interviews and deliberations for possible bias. Resist assigning this role to a junior colleague or someone who may identify as marginalized – having to call in their colleagues can be risky.

10. Be inclusive. 

During uncertain times, we gravitate toward what we know; this tends to decrease diversity and creates a ‘culture of sameness’ in the workplace. Look for a candidate who aligns with your department’s values and can also enrich your unit with a different perspective. 

If you run into problems or could use a consultation on a specific selection process, please contact us at the Equity & Inclusion Office and we will do our best to help. 

Other resources: 

Equity Considerations In Virtual Interviews

UBC HR’s memo on adjustments to the recruitment and hiring process in response to COVID-19

UBC IT’s Zoom Video Conferencing Guidelines and Response to Zoom Privacy Concerns: 

By Gabrielle Bonifacio, Communications Assistant and Aftab Erfan, Director, Dialogue and Conflict Engagement

Due to COVID-19, we have all made difficult, yet necessary, changes to our routines in order to flatten the curve. Unfortunately, while waiting for the number of cases to fall, reports of xenophobia and anti-Asian, particularly anti-Chinese, racism continue to rise in the region, nationally and globally. Furthermore, violent incidents of anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism persist across North America and beyond. Like the virus, racism is pervasive and harmful; it is something we must consciously make an effort to fight in our daily lives. In light of these incidents, we wanted to share a few tips to help you tackle racism and stand in solidarity with those affected:

1. Take an active role.

What is worse than being a target of racism is to be a target of racism while others witness what’s happening and do nothing. Whether it’s on the 99 B-line or on a Zoom hangout, your willingness to take an active role demonstrates your care and responsibility. Intervening does not necessarily mean confronting the racist act or calling it out. Depending on the situation and your feeling of safety, you could employ any of the 5Ds of bystander intervention: Distract, Delegate, Document, Delay, or Direct.

2. Listen to your IBPOC colleagues, friends and teachers.

While it can be important to come forward when you see or hear someone making a racist remark, it’s equally important to know when to step back. Follow the lead of the person being targeted instead of playing the hero who knows best. If they don’t want you to call the police, don’t. If they ask for an IBPOC-only space to debrief, step out. If you make a mistake and someone comes forward or corrects you, don’t get defensive; instead, actively listen and show that you hear them by following their lead in conversations where you have no lived experience. As Maya Angelou would say: “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”

3. Seek out diverse media.

When writing papers, we’re often burdened with the dreaded task of citing our sources. But as Dan Zanes points out, how often is our news coming from the same place? The next time you’re looking for a think piece on COVID-19 or a new show to add to your Netflix queue, consider the importance of representation and ask yourself Who is making what you’re consuming? Engaging with media that represent and are created by people who are different from us is a good way to expand our perspectives.

4. Borrow a book, find a film or press play on a podcast.

Fighting racism means both learning new ways of thinking and unlearning harmful ideas that have been taught to us. Thankfully, there are many free, accessible resources that can help you educate yourself on these issues.

5. Check yourself.

It’s important to first examine our own thoughts before we act. Because racism is so ingrained in our systems and institutions, we all have our own biases and privileges. Rather than staying in the same mindset, work on understanding your privilege and use it to support IBPOC communities. If you catch yourself reverting to stereotypes, take a moment to stop and deconstruct your biases (e.g. Am I making this judgment based on the individual or based on negative portrayals I’ve seen in movies?).

Fighting racism is a process that can often be emotional, frustrating and riddled with mistakes. However, no one expects racism to be solved with any single action or person. Racism is a challenge that must be accepted by everyone in order to be eradicated and addressed at the individual and institutional levels; this hard but necessary work starts with our schools, businesses, communities and ourselves.

If you or someone you know has experienced discrimination, get in touch with our Human Rights team or check out other campus resources for more support.