The Executive Offices of Associated Students announced in a May 28 letter to the student body their intentions to develop a minority caucus within the Office of External Affairs in response to the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor.

In the letter, A.S. President Kimberly Giangtran, Vice President of Campus Affairs Hannah Kreitman, and Vice President of External Affairs Alisha Saxena expressed their collective frustrations over the recent incidents of police brutality and inaction throughout the country.

“We continue to see that the arc of the moral universe does not bend towards justice for all, and that it continues to favor white supremacy over racial equality,” the three wrote.

The letter continued on to state that A.S. will work to develop better relationships Black Resource Center, Black Student Union, and other groups which serve marginalized communities. Notably, the letter stated that the Office of External Affairs will work to develop a minority caucus to provide greater representation to the black community.

The letter concluded with a call to action, encouraging students to call Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman to demand accountability for the murder of Floyd, which was commited by local police officer. Likewise, the three encouraged students to participate in the BRC’s Virtual Intra-Community Space, which will feature Dr. Cat Thompson from Counseling and Psychological Services. The event will be held via Zoom on Friday, May 29 from 12-1 p.m.

While the UC San Diego administration had not made an official statement on the matter at the time of this article’s publication, several resource centers and student organizations have. The LGBT Resource Center sent out an email on May 28 which also condemned the murders and called for students to attend the BRC’s event.

“The intersections of gender, race, sexuality, class, age, and documentation status can be places where traumas compound but those intersections can also serve as powerful places for organizing,” the email stated.

The university administration later released a statement on the matter, expressing their sympathies for the murders and denouncing racism.

“We know that statements such as these do not resolve the intractable issues we face as a country,” the statement read. “We know it does not even begin to heal the hurt and trauma caused by structural and systemic racism and discrimination. Collectively, let us continue to work together for a more just, equitable and humane society in our service, activism, pedagogy, and community and collaborative efforts.”

Students interested in getting involved are encouraged to attend the BRC’s event. The A.S. Office of External Affairs stated in a follow up letter to The UCSD Guardian that students interested in learning more about the minority caucus can fill out a google form using this link.

Photo by Brendan Wilson for The UCSD Guardian.

This article was updated at 11:00 a.m. on May 29 to include a link for how to get involved with the minority caucus.

This article was updated at 2:45 p.m. on May 29 to include that the university made a statement on the murder after this article’s publication.