On June 10, the lab will participate in #ShutDownStem #ShutDownAcademia. This means that we will not engage in our normal practice of everyday science. Instead, we will focus on ways to make higher education more inclusive and diverse while working to promote anti-racist and anti-hate policies and behaviors.

Agenda items for #ShutDownStem and #ShutDownAcademia include:

• Working with colleges to formalize procedures for increasing diversity and inclusion in the lab and department
• Reviewing and updating lab documents
• Reading research from underrepresented & minoritized voices

The lab is a proud member of the Cognitive Neuroscience Society, which has issued a statement in support of #ShutDownStem and #ShutDownAcademia. We are also proud members of the International Communication Association, National Communication Association, and Social and Affective Neuroscience Society, all who have released statements reaffirming anti-racism and anti-hate pro-diversity and pro-inclusion values. We too share and support these values, and they are built into our lab manual and lab expectations documents.

There is an ever growing list of resources available for helping promote these values. The lab maintains a list of resources on its wiki. The #ShutDownStem and #ShutDownAcademia website also contains excellent resources.

In solidarity.