Considering a Santa Fe College utopia is similar to the question: Can we wave a magic fairy wand and create the future we want to create? If we could do that, that future would mean that each individual who walks through our doors or lives in our community, who lives in our society, and in the world as a whole, would be—as Martin Luther King said—judged for the content of their character and not for the color of their skin, not for the place they were born, not for their socioeconomic status, not for their gender identity or sexual orientation, but who they are as a person, what their desires and dreams are, what their input to society is, and how they can go about achieving their goals and living their lives. One of the most important things we can do is meet each person as an individual and get outside of our comfort zone. Choose to put yourself in places where you’re going to meet people who are different than you are. Those are some of the best ways we can go about broadening our perceptions of individuals and learning how to appreciate them and celebrate the diversity they bring to our society.
Cheryl Calhoun, Dean of Access and Inclusion