ADVOCACY & ACTIVISM
Over the years, members of the Bikos RVT have been involved in activism for issues that are local (e.g., resources for graduate students on our campus) and national (e.g., the march for science, gun violence, racism). In recent years, one issue has been a critical focus.
LGBTQIA+ Advocacy at SPU
In January 2021, an adjunct professor in SPU’s school of health sciences filed a lawsuit claiming for sexual orientation discrimination. His legal team claimed the university denied him employment because he is married to a man. The university’s student newspaper, The Falcon has been providing excellent, ongoing, updates.
The Department of Clinical Psychology and students have participated and co-led protests, organized GrAdvocacy (a celebration for LGBTQIA+ graduates), and been active in the grassroots resistance group, Affirm.
Two additional efforts have been a focal point of the Bikos RVT. In Fall 2021, ASSP (Association of Students of Seattle Pacific)sought assistance in surveying the student body. Dr. Bikos and five doctoral students (across CPY and I-O programs) met with the students to design, implement, interpret, and report the results of the Voices of Campus Questionnaire (VoCQ) that went to the entire campus community. The story of that partnership was presented in a symposium presentation to the Western Psychological Association in Spring 2022.
Image of the title slide from a WPA symposium presentation sharing the story of the partnership with ASSP.
Image of Title Slide from the Voices of Campus Questionnaire Results presentation.
The Provost’s office encouraged a series of “SPU in One Room” presentations to facilitate conversation across campus. Following presentations from Theology and Biology, Dr. Bikos coordinated Psychology’s contribution, “PSYCH: SPU in One ZOOM.” Here, she presented some of the research results regarding the psycho-social-spiritual well-being of students who identify as LGBTQIA+.
While we welcome students who will join us in the work of activism, we encourage them to ask about the current status of the hiring policies and practices as well as the campus culture for these issues. A current statement of religious hiring restrictions is available on SPU website.
On-Campus Activism
Image of CPY faculty and students at a demonstration.
Image Dr. Bikos with her statistics lesson poster.
Image of the GrAdvocacy flyer.
Image of a GrAdvocacy speaker.
Image of activists at a pop-up protest.
Image of activists at a protest.