Dear Peralta Community,
Today the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The Court indicated, "The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe and Casey are overruled, and the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives." While we cannot know the immediate, broader implications of this decision, women in California continue to be protected under state law safeguarding broad access to reproductive health services.
Community college leadership across the state stands together in its focus on student success, as noted in Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley’s statement earlier this morning,
“The implications of this decision for other privacy-related rights involving contraception, same-sex marriage, and other intimate aspects of life will become clear in the coming years. The Chancellor's Office will continue to be clear in our support for the basic rights that the Supreme Court has called into question with this decision. It is critical that California community college students, staff, and administrators engage fully, peacefully, and lawfully in civic life and do all we can to ensure that future generations inherit the vibrant democracy its founders envisioned."
We recognize that personal beliefs may inform our perspectives of today’s ruling, whether as a form of abject oppression and aggression or validation of one’s belief in the protection of a living being. No matter what our individual views might be, we want to assure the Peralta community that as public institutions of learning, there is room in our community to civilly engage in difficult dialogues, while also standing in solidarity with those who have been personally impacted by today’s ruling. We must engage in such dialogue respectfully and with civility.
In Solidarity,
Dr. Jannett N. Jackson, Interim Chancellor, Peralta Community College District
Dr. Angélica Garcia, President, Berkeley City College
Dr. Nathaniel Jones III, President, College of Alameda
Dr. Rudy Besikof, President, Laney College
Dr. David M. Johnson, President, Merritt College
