Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the SMAGL
Race & Racism
The Sensory Morphology and Anthropological Genomics Lab (SMAGL) stands against systemic racism and brutality against folks who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). We will not be silent, and thereby complicit, in the systemic injustices experienced by our BIPOC friends, colleagues, students, and communities at large. The violent murders of unarmed BIPOC are unacceptable. We stand with those protesting the horrific deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Tony McDade, Rayshard Brooks, Robert Fuller, Malcom Harsch, and countless others.
As Biological Anthropologists, we acknowledge that our field was born from, and upheld for several decades, scientific racism. We work every day to actively dismantle, through research and teaching, these debunked notions of racial superiority and inferiority, in keeping with the larger work of the American Association of Biological Anthropologists. If you are a student, please consider the following courses that we teach, in which we actively engage in this work: CAS AN 102 (Human Behavior, Biology and Evolution), CAS AN/WS 233 (The Evolutionary Biology of Human Variation), CAS AN/BI 333 (Human Population Genetics), CAS AN 551 (The Anthropology of Human Heredity).
The SMAGL is dedicated to recruiting students and postdoctoral scholars from backgrounds historically excluded from our field, and to helping to lift their voices through active research and opportunities for publication related to that research. We also work to engage our BIPOC lab members with support structures and efforts to counter systemic racism beyond our lab in biological anthropology, including the AABA IDEAS Fellows program and other Committee on Diversity support structures, and internal and national-level programs that support their work financially, scientifically, and in their larger lived experiences.
We will not tolerate racism or other forms of bigotry from our lab members. Every member of our lab is responsible for actively creating a safe and inclusive environment for all of our members.
Trainees joining the lab at any level are required to discuss and sign our Code of Conduct, which defines various common expressions of personal and systemic racism and bias that often degrade the working environment of lab settings. Such expressions of bias will not be tolerated. Violation of this code will be considered grounds for expulsion from the lab.
Sex, Gender, Sexuality & Misogyny, Homophobia and Transphobia
Expressions of misogyny, homophobia and transphobia will similarly result in expulsion from the lab. The PIs of this lab include a straight cis-gendered woman (Prof. Eva Garrett, she/her) and a cis-presenting non-binary person (Prof. Christopher Schmitt, he/they) who is a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, and we actively support and uplift our students who are sex, gender and sexual minorities in our field and in society. It is also our priority to dismantle biases steeped in cultural misconceptions of biological determinism relevant to sexual orientation, gender expression, and sex. If you are a student, please consider the following courses that we teach, in which we actively engage in this work: CAS AN 102 (Human Behavior, Biology and Evolution), CAS WS 102 (Gender & Sexuality II: An Interdisciplinary Introduction), CAS AN/WS 233 (The Evolutionary Biology of Human Variation), CAS AN/WS 558 (The Evolutionary Biology of Human Sexual Differences).
We recognize that sex is not binary, but rather is physically expressed along a spectrum that has many intersex variations rooted in several unique differences of sexual differentiation. We also recognize that these variations in sex (both physiological and those culturally assigned at birth) have little to do with gender identity and expression, which is also not binary, and which may both be culturally informed and also deeply personal aspects of identity. The variation we see in sex and gender identity and expression are to be celebrated, and do not confer any innate abilities that predispose our trainees to success. We will help trainees of any sex or gender develop the skills they need to succeed in our lab.
We also recognize that sexuality is a fluid, multi-dimensional spectrum ranging from asexuality to pansexuality, and that expression of this spectrum of desires can take on many changeable forms in different parts of our lives ranging from chosen celibacy to life-long monogamy to promiscuity and polyamory. We recognize that there is debate regarding the origins of these variations, ranging from the biological to the cultural and how the two interact, and that individuals may value differing explanations as integral parts of their personal identities. Regardless of their origins or explanations, regardless of whether chosen or innate, these variations are celebrated in our lab.
We also note that there are limits to discussions of sexual practices and desires required to maintain our lab as a safe space free of harassment. These limits may be, at times, at odds with values regarding sexual openness in identities that have been subject to histories of sex-shaming and associated discrimination. We will work with all lab members towards a universally beneficial and supportive space in the lab through open dialogue and conversation rooted in respect for each others' lived experiences and cultural differences, and provide guidelines for how to do so in our Code of Conduct.
Trainees joining the lab at any level are required to discuss and sign this Code of Conduct, which defines various common expressions of personal and systemic bias against sex, gender, and sexual minorities that often degrade the working environment of lab settings. The Code of Conduct also provides clear limits for the discussion of expressions of sex, gender, and sexuality to prevent unwanted sexual harassment, and gives clear guidelines regarding how to report when these limits are crossed. Such expressions of bias or harassment will not be tolerated. Violation of this code will be considered grounds for expulsion from the lab.
Differing Abilities & Ableism
We welcome students who are differently abled, and encourage students to work with us to find projects in our lab that match their abilities. We also encourage students to work with the Office of Disability & Access Services to gain advice on accommodations that may be necessary aids in their research. The goal, at Disability & Access Services, is to provide services and support to ensure that students are able to access and participate in the opportunities available at Boston University. In keeping with this objective, students are expected and encouraged to utilize the resources of Disability & Access Services to the degree they determine necessary. Although a significant degree of independence is expected of students, Disability & Access Services is available to assist, should the need arise.
Trainees joining the lab at any level are required to discuss and sign our Code of Conduct, which defines various common expressions of personal and systemic bias against people with different ability statuses that often degrade the working environment of lab settings. Such expressions of bias will not be tolerated. Violation of this code will be considered grounds for expulsion from the lab.
The Sensory Morphology and Anthropological Genomics Lab (SMAGL) stands against systemic racism and brutality against folks who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). We will not be silent, and thereby complicit, in the systemic injustices experienced by our BIPOC friends, colleagues, students, and communities at large. The violent murders of unarmed BIPOC are unacceptable. We stand with those protesting the horrific deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Tony McDade, Rayshard Brooks, Robert Fuller, Malcom Harsch, and countless others.
As Biological Anthropologists, we acknowledge that our field was born from, and upheld for several decades, scientific racism. We work every day to actively dismantle, through research and teaching, these debunked notions of racial superiority and inferiority, in keeping with the larger work of the American Association of Biological Anthropologists. If you are a student, please consider the following courses that we teach, in which we actively engage in this work: CAS AN 102 (Human Behavior, Biology and Evolution), CAS AN/WS 233 (The Evolutionary Biology of Human Variation), CAS AN/BI 333 (Human Population Genetics), CAS AN 551 (The Anthropology of Human Heredity).
The SMAGL is dedicated to recruiting students and postdoctoral scholars from backgrounds historically excluded from our field, and to helping to lift their voices through active research and opportunities for publication related to that research. We also work to engage our BIPOC lab members with support structures and efforts to counter systemic racism beyond our lab in biological anthropology, including the AABA IDEAS Fellows program and other Committee on Diversity support structures, and internal and national-level programs that support their work financially, scientifically, and in their larger lived experiences.
We will not tolerate racism or other forms of bigotry from our lab members. Every member of our lab is responsible for actively creating a safe and inclusive environment for all of our members.
Trainees joining the lab at any level are required to discuss and sign our Code of Conduct, which defines various common expressions of personal and systemic racism and bias that often degrade the working environment of lab settings. Such expressions of bias will not be tolerated. Violation of this code will be considered grounds for expulsion from the lab.
Sex, Gender, Sexuality & Misogyny, Homophobia and Transphobia
Expressions of misogyny, homophobia and transphobia will similarly result in expulsion from the lab. The PIs of this lab include a straight cis-gendered woman (Prof. Eva Garrett, she/her) and a cis-presenting non-binary person (Prof. Christopher Schmitt, he/they) who is a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, and we actively support and uplift our students who are sex, gender and sexual minorities in our field and in society. It is also our priority to dismantle biases steeped in cultural misconceptions of biological determinism relevant to sexual orientation, gender expression, and sex. If you are a student, please consider the following courses that we teach, in which we actively engage in this work: CAS AN 102 (Human Behavior, Biology and Evolution), CAS WS 102 (Gender & Sexuality II: An Interdisciplinary Introduction), CAS AN/WS 233 (The Evolutionary Biology of Human Variation), CAS AN/WS 558 (The Evolutionary Biology of Human Sexual Differences).
We recognize that sex is not binary, but rather is physically expressed along a spectrum that has many intersex variations rooted in several unique differences of sexual differentiation. We also recognize that these variations in sex (both physiological and those culturally assigned at birth) have little to do with gender identity and expression, which is also not binary, and which may both be culturally informed and also deeply personal aspects of identity. The variation we see in sex and gender identity and expression are to be celebrated, and do not confer any innate abilities that predispose our trainees to success. We will help trainees of any sex or gender develop the skills they need to succeed in our lab.
We also recognize that sexuality is a fluid, multi-dimensional spectrum ranging from asexuality to pansexuality, and that expression of this spectrum of desires can take on many changeable forms in different parts of our lives ranging from chosen celibacy to life-long monogamy to promiscuity and polyamory. We recognize that there is debate regarding the origins of these variations, ranging from the biological to the cultural and how the two interact, and that individuals may value differing explanations as integral parts of their personal identities. Regardless of their origins or explanations, regardless of whether chosen or innate, these variations are celebrated in our lab.
We also note that there are limits to discussions of sexual practices and desires required to maintain our lab as a safe space free of harassment. These limits may be, at times, at odds with values regarding sexual openness in identities that have been subject to histories of sex-shaming and associated discrimination. We will work with all lab members towards a universally beneficial and supportive space in the lab through open dialogue and conversation rooted in respect for each others' lived experiences and cultural differences, and provide guidelines for how to do so in our Code of Conduct.
Trainees joining the lab at any level are required to discuss and sign this Code of Conduct, which defines various common expressions of personal and systemic bias against sex, gender, and sexual minorities that often degrade the working environment of lab settings. The Code of Conduct also provides clear limits for the discussion of expressions of sex, gender, and sexuality to prevent unwanted sexual harassment, and gives clear guidelines regarding how to report when these limits are crossed. Such expressions of bias or harassment will not be tolerated. Violation of this code will be considered grounds for expulsion from the lab.
Differing Abilities & Ableism
We welcome students who are differently abled, and encourage students to work with us to find projects in our lab that match their abilities. We also encourage students to work with the Office of Disability & Access Services to gain advice on accommodations that may be necessary aids in their research. The goal, at Disability & Access Services, is to provide services and support to ensure that students are able to access and participate in the opportunities available at Boston University. In keeping with this objective, students are expected and encouraged to utilize the resources of Disability & Access Services to the degree they determine necessary. Although a significant degree of independence is expected of students, Disability & Access Services is available to assist, should the need arise.
Trainees joining the lab at any level are required to discuss and sign our Code of Conduct, which defines various common expressions of personal and systemic bias against people with different ability statuses that often degrade the working environment of lab settings. Such expressions of bias will not be tolerated. Violation of this code will be considered grounds for expulsion from the lab.