Statement of Community

The ECE department is committed to supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion. Lafayette’s diversity statement includes “All members of the College community share a responsibility for creating, maintaining, and developing a learning environment in which difference is valued, equity is sought, and inclusiveness is practiced.” The following summarizes the expectations of the ECE community. What applies to students also applies to faculty and staff.

  1. We strive to be respectful of everyone’s culture, ethnicity, race, religion, history, gender identity, sexuality, country of origin, and physical and mental capabilities.
  2. ECE is a community. Be supportive of one another, while respecting college policies regarding academic honesty and integrity.
  3. You may have a friend in every ECE student, engineering student, and Lafayette student. Lafayette graduates’ greatest strength is the network of relations they establish throughout their four years at the C
  4. Remember that comments can hurt and cut even worse than physical altercations. Sometimes an apology is not enough to get over hurt and insults.
  5. As a student in the third decade of the 21st century, you have access to a wide range of social media platforms. Although these can provide access to a wide range of information, they can also be places (physical or virtual) where bullying and harassment can occur. As a member of the ECE community we expect you to be a responsible user of social media.
  6. Students are here to learn, carve a career, make friends, appreciate global diversity and multiculturalism. To help foster this appreciation as a student you will take courses that fulfill the global and multicultural learning outcomes of the Common Course of Study and have proficiency in a second language. We also offer thriving study abroad programs. These experiences will help you, in your future career as a professional engineer when you may be meeting in person or virtually with engineers and businesspeople of all backgrounds, races, and cultural heritage.
  7. We strive for inclusive classrooms in which you respect your colleagues. Asking questions and answering questions takes a lot of courage and initiative by students and everyone learns together.
  8. Be respectful of everyone’s accent, handwriting, clothing, food, and cultural interests.
  9. If you observe misbehavior, you do have the option to report it to the Dean’s office, to a faculty member, or to the ECE Dept. Head. Let them decide if they should intervene or act. Please know that being an upstander rather than a bystander might help a colleague a great deal.
  10. As a member of the ECE community we expect you to be respectful of and accountable to your lab partner. Try to be inclusive in your choice of a lab partner so that all ECE students feel a sense of belonging and community in our courses. If academic issues arise in the lab, please alert your instructor in private and she/he will attempt to resolve the issues. Be aware that we all have strengths and weaknesses. Your lab partner might have strengths in different academic aspects than you do. Try to complement each other.
  11. The ECE department offers several shared spaces for study, course lab work, project work, and extra-curricular collaboration. It is everyone’s’ responsibility to maintain these areas and keep them free of trash and other clutter. This expectation includes replacement of tools and cables after each use, and deconstruction or proper storage of any project hardware.

A healthy ECE community is essential for a successful college education. You are all here to make wonderful memories and learn. No one is here to be hurt and mistreated. Please be a good citizen of Lafayette and the ECE Department.

Created November 13, 2023