Dear Campus Community:

Some members of our community awoke last week and this week to fliers posted on and off campus. These fliers included a hateful message of anti-Semitism and caused valued members of our community to feel unsafe.

I want to be clear that while we strongly endorse diversity of thought and expression, we also believe this comes with a responsibility of respect for all. As the expression of hateful ideas will arise periodically, we will continue to respond by condemning the promotion of hate, fear and violence. Promoting these things harms not only individuals but also our community of learning and inclusion. 

We celebrated last month the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, and this weekend we will host the Black Solidarity Summit in the University Center. The keynote address featuring Ericka Hart is free and open to all students. In addition, at noon, Tuesday, Feb. 19 in the Branch Center, Rabbi Mark Kula will host a question and answer session on anti-Semitism. Please consider joining these important conversations that express of our values of diversity, equity and inclusion.

I want to reiterate that as an institution that promotes diversity of thought, we must take seriously our obligation to combat bad ideas with better ones. And we must actively seek to learn about and respect people and experiences that differ from our own.

Seth