There has been much weighing on us with the recent events of continued violence, relentless injustice, and murder of Black people due to pervasive, systemic racism. This understanding has left us outraged, and we will do everything we can to create a culture that is actively anti-racist. Tech Club Board stands with our Black classmates, our members, and the Michigan School of Business community to drive this long-overdue change.

Tech Club joins BBSA and other student-led organizations at the Michigan School of Business in a pledge to eradicate racism. As we strive to become business leaders, we will all play an outsized role in the direction of this conversation. We recognize that our social fabric is cloth woven by tech companies. Social media platforms host and moderate our national narrative, while others bring depictions of the Truth to our eyes and ears.

We have a responsibility to embed Tech’s future leaders with a foundation of anti-racism, inspire them to vigilantly monitor innovation for unconscious bias, and foster principles of diversity, inclusion, and belonging in hiring practices. As a board, we have thought deeply about the actions we can take to create an anti-racist, pro-equality culture. We’re eager to commit to the following and are ready to do the work.

What we will do today:

• Require all board members to take anti-bias training
• Diversify our guest speakers: no all-white, or all-male panels in 2020-2021 school year
• Co-host a BBSA-led discussion on Black Advancement in Tech, with Black guest speakers, during Tech Club’s "Tech For Everyone" marquee event
• Commit to a minority keynote speaker for Tech Day
• Codify our ongoing pursuit of gender, racial, and sexual orientation representation on the board
• Monitor, listen, reflect, and respond to input via this feedback forum

How we will continue the work:

• Create a long-standing culture of inclusion year-over-year by altering our club constitution so that Tech Club will host at least 4 total diversity-related events in partnership with DEI and Affinity Clubs, focused on professional advancement of minority groups in tech
• Influence the Career Development Office (CDO) to ensure that companies invited to campus are value-aligned and carve out time to discuss their diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives
• As future tech professionals and leaders:
  • Create de-biased products and services - in design, access, and beyond
  • Create, support, and participate in D&I Initiatives
  • Hire, support, and empower black employees

Our board is committed to driving change. But we want your help as well. Don’t hesitate to reach out to hold us accountable, help us strengthen our stance, or just keep the dialogue alive.

-Tech Club Board