The HUB's Commitment to Linguistic Justice
At The HUB Writing Center, we understand languages are powerful tools that express identities, cultures, and values. We know as well that languages are fluid and that their usage changes over time, and though we acknowledge that academic settings often privilege certain writing styles, we understand that all dialectics and languages are legitimate, and we work to share this rhetorical and linguistic knowledge with our academic community.
It is our goal to support writers across campus by fostering an environment where individuals can express their views and ideas in meaningful ways. Thus, we encourage individuals to use language as a way to build understanding and awareness, and we focus on enhancing communication strategies that rely on compassionate reflection, knowledge building, respect for others, and one’s own linguistic identity.
We see it as our responsibility to
- Educate ourselves and those within SCU’s community about how language usage expectations reflect social power dynamics and how those power structures can be questioned and ultimately deconstructed;
- Appreciate the fact that acquiring fluency in any language or dialect is an intensive, ongoing process;
- Ensure that The HUB creates and maintains an inclusive, diverse, and respectful environment;
- Develop public, online resources to help writers and speakers understand how language evolves.
By enacting these practices, we challenge the injustices and inequitable structures embedded in our society that impact us on every level, including within our writing and language usage. We also align The HUB Writing Center with the International Writing Centers Association commitment to diversity, the call from the Conference on College Composition and Communication to use writing and language respectfully and responsibly, the Demand for Black Linguistic Justice, and Santa Clara University’s goal to educate students in competence, conscience, and compassion.
