Graduate oSTEM at Yale

06/06/2020

To our oSTEM family:

We at oSTEM condemn racism, police brutality, and support the movement for Black lives. The events underlying the past two weeks have made it incredibly clear the months ahead will bring an enormous amount of sadness, grief, anger, and activism that we will be a part of as individuals and a group. The recent deaths of George Floyd, Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor due to racist police brutality have forced many into action. These are just a few in the long list of victims of police brutality, including Atatiana Jefferson, Eric Garner, Freddie Gray, Walter Scott, Botham Jean, Sandra Bland, Tamir Rice, Michael Brown, LaQuan McDonald, Tony Robinson, Alton Sterling, and Philando Castile. Black people are still facing a society that dehumanizes them because of their skin tone, and many will never understand what it is like to be targeted because of race. Yet, it is those of us with privilege, especially white privilege, that MUST stand up, speak out, and take action against police brutality.

The recent news weighs even more heavily on our Black colleagues in oSTEM because of the compounding struggle battling cisheterosexism and racism. You are here directly defying a system that was built to fail you. The current events do not represent a new situation; rather, the violence and murders of Black people by the police is a constant reality. We must unite to dismantle the racist systems in America that were built to oppress. During Pride month, it’s especially important to recognize that Stonewall was a protest against oppression and police violence, with Marsha P. Johnson, a Black trans woman, at its center. We owe the q***r liberation movement to activists like Marsha P. Johnson and there is no q***r liberation without the liberation of Black LGBTQ+ people. Too often the white majority LGBTQ+ population does not center the voices of our Black siblings and that must change. Please know, we are here for you and wish to extend as much support as is needed whenever. You are a part of OUR community, and OUR family, and we WILL fight for you.

For the oSTEM community, we urge you to be active in the fight against racism and to educate yourselves in understanding the historical brutality that has led to the oppression of Black people to this day. Please, do not remain silent or turn away from these topics simply because they make you uncomfortable. Not speaking out about this is accepting that this is how the world should be. It is important, especially during Pride month--and especially during this Pride month--to show how we support EVERYONE in our community. Specifically, oSTEM will be inviting Black LGBTQ+ scientists to Yale to speak and actively advocating for the Yale administration to hire and support more diverse faculty, staff, and students. We welcome any and all suggestions from our community on actions to take moving forward.

In solidarity,
oSTEM @ Yale

Support letter + resources

To our oSTEM family: We at oSTEM condemn racism, police brutality, and support the movement for Black lives. The events underlying the past two weeks have made it incredibly clear the months ahead will bring an enormous amount of sadness, grief, anger, and activism that we will be a part of as ...

05/29/2020

As we move forward with reopening, there are some real questions that we need answered by the University! Please consider singing this pledge to not return to work until all safety precautions are in effect!

Yale University Trainee Pledge to Delay Return to Lab Research: As Yale University moves forward in plans to resume research activities as early as June 1, we as trainees continue to voice our concerns. An open letter to University leadership dated Thursday, May 28 communicated inadequacies in the U...

05/28/2020

Very important work being done by COGS to get some real answers from the administration before the first wave of workers returns. Share widely!

May 28, 2020 To the Yale administration: We – scientists from across the graduate school – write to communicate our concerns with the lack of detailed plans and protections as Yale aims to move into Phase 1 of reopening during the COVID-19 global pandemic. 75 students representing 17 department....

07/03/2019

“Extavour, who didn’t tell colleagues about her sexual orientation until her postdoc years, says that she can appreciate how students who come out as le***an, gay, bisexual, transgender or q***r might feel isolated. Rainbow-flag stickers on the doors of her office and laboratory spaces signal to students that everyone is welcome. “Being out at work is important, because it allows young people to see that it’s possible to be gay and out and alive and have a job,” she says.”

Cassandra Extavour has transformed understanding of animal development — while championing diversity, and nurturing a side career as a soprano.

06/27/2019

"And 18% who are le***an, gay, bisexual, transgender or from other sexual and gender minorities (LGBT+) said they had experienced harassment, bullying or exclusionary behaviour in the workplace [in the UK]. That figure rises to 32% for transgender people and those who don’t identify as either male or female (non-binary). Transgender and non-binary scientists were overall more likely than other the groups to describe challenges in their work environment, and women generally reported more negative experiences than men."

This is in comparison to roughly 46% of q***r people from the American Physical Society survey who said they had experienced discrimination.

Despite progress, many physical scientists from sexual and gender minorities experience exclusion or harassment at work, finds UK survey.

05/29/2019

"My own experience has taught me that I am responsible for advocating for my own inclusion — and have a responsibility to advocate for others. The question, 'if not me, then who?' rattles around my mind on a daily basis...But the stress of being q***r means that it feels challenging — and some days, impossible — to remain in academia long enough to meet these markers [of publication, etc].

In order for trans people to feel welcome in academia, we need consistent and pervasive visibility and representation of trans people at all levels of the system. We need more trans grad students, post-docs, lab managers, faculty, and administrators. And we need cisgender peers and colleagues to be informed and vocal advocates."

More needs to be done by cisgender people in the field, and it needs to be done now

05/08/2019

“It is in this model of space-time as a series of entanglements that I’m able to piece together all of the fragmented sects of my identity - as someone who is British and Iraqi, as q***r and Muslim, as someone of many genders and potentially no gender at all.”

04/10/2019

Check out this article in the Yale News about our symposium on Friday!

Learn how trailblazers like oSTEM’s Eric Patridge and Office of LGBTQ Resources Director Maria Trumpler are working to make science and tech more inclusive.

03/21/2019

On April 12th, oSTEM.grad is holding the Q***r in STEM symposium, where we have invited several prominent q***r scientists to Yale to speak about their work detailing the experiences of LGBTQ scientists in a variety of fields. The half day event will include talks from current graduate students, a keynote lecture from the q***r in STEM team, and a panel discussion. Please RSVP here (https://goo.gl/forms/lmyFXgAp7oCnimir1) if you’re interested in attending. For more information, please contact [email protected] or visit the symposium website at q***rinstemsymposium.wordpress.com.

The q***r in STEM symposium will be held on April 12th from 12pm-5pm in Loria 351 (190 York Street). Email [email protected] with any questions.

02/01/2019

As I'm sure some of you saw today, we're holding a q***r in STEM symposium on April 12th! We've invited a few prominent q***r scientists to talk about their work describing the experiences of q***r people in STEM. As a part of this event, we want to have q***r graduate students and post docs give short talks on their research. If you're interested in giving a talk, please fill out this google form by February 25th. We welcome talks from any STEM field and we hope to give as many people as possible the opportunity to present their research. Feel free to reach out to us here or by email ([email protected]) with any questions!

This is a form for graduate students and post docs to submit your name to give either a flash (5min) or longer (15-20min) talk about your science at the oSTEM Symposium on April 12th, 2019. Talk length will be determined based on interest and availability. Please email [email protected] with any qu...