Values

SFPIRG brings together a diverse range of people, and our work is all centred on a shared set of values. SFPIRG’s organizational values serve as a guide for the work of SFPIRG. These values are a living document, and were most recently updated in November 2016.

We invite everyone to come and talk with us about these values and to work with us in translating them into action!


We value:

Inclusive and accessible space to build community on campus; therefore we support the social and environmental justice work of a diverse range of students, and we strive to recognize and respond to diverse access needs: physical; emotional/social; financial; and childcare/child friendly. We are committed to principles of Disability Justice and to continually reassessing our space and our organizing practices to ensure that they are as accessible as possible.

Intersectional anti-oppression; therefore, we acknowledge that systems of oppression exist, are interconnected and multifaceted, and must be challenged in multiple ways.

Body sovereignty and diversity, therefore we resist violence against all marginalized beings and bodies. We support food sovereignty, gender and sexual diversity, migrant justice, fat liberation, and (non-human) animal rights. We encourage a critical approach to mainstream ideas about: mental & physical health; disability; beauty; poverty, class, and capitalism; racialization; nationalism, citizenship, and statehood; sex work; prisons, and punitive justice; and monogamy, relationships, and family. We are committed to Reproductive Justice; we support the right of pregnant persons to access abortion, but more than this we support the right of all people to a social reality that allows for non-coercive, community-supported reproduction; we understand that attaining this requires that we dismantle all systems of oppression.

Indigenous sovereignties and decolonization – here and globally. We acknowledge that SFPIRG occupies unceded Indigenous land belonging to Coast Salish peoples. Based on our current knowledge, this includes the territories of the Musqueam, Skwxwú7mesh (pronounced Skohomish), Tsleil-Waututh (pronounced: slay-wa-tooth), and Kwikwetlem nations. We support the varied strategies that Indigenous peoples are using to protect their land and their communities, and we commit to dedicating time and resources to working in solidarity. We acknowledge that we, as people living and working on these lands, are accountable to the laws and protocols of the people who have cared for this land since time immemorial. It is our intention to continue learning how to honour this responsibility.

Self-representation, self-determination, and empowering student and community leadership; therefore, we value individuals and communities working and speaking from their own experience. We respect that our different life experiences, social locations, and community histories necessarily requires a diversity of approaches, and we seek to support skill sharing, mentorship, mutual feedback and capacity building.

Accountability, integrity, wholeness and healing; therefore we strive to be accountable to our membership, hold space where people can be their whole selves, find support, and act to bring their values & their day-to-day lives into greater alignment. We believe that all of this requires continual learning and growth and so we encourage curiosity and compassion, and we strive to be self-reflective and supportive of the learning process in others.

Sustainability; therefore we strive to live in respectful ways with our environment and minimize our ecological footprint. This includes supporting sustainable food systems; biodiversity; and free access to clean water.

Respectful communication; therefore we commit to engaging in open and respectful dialogue with anyone who is willing to do the same.