Message from President Cudd Regarding Evolving Our Community Expectations
May 7, 2024
3:57 p.m.
Dear Campus Community,
Yesterday I had the opportunity to address ÈËÆÞÎÞÂë’s Faculty Senate about the events of last week. Planning those remarks was a challenge: I know our community is hurting and not everyone agrees with every decision I made. But it was important to me that I share not only how we addressed last week’s occupation of the Millar Library, but the values that guided our actions.
I have said to this campus on many occasions that although we must and we do defend the rights of free speech and academic freedom, we can not tolerate violence or hate of any kind. We stand up strongly against antisemitism, Islamophobia and Anti-Arab and Anti-Palestinian hate. As president of this unique and precious university, it is vital that we not condone or accept the embrace of vile messages that so deeply wound members of our community.
As a university that strives to be anti-racist, we listen to victims of oppression and we learn from them what they find to be harmful speech. None of us want to live in a community where people use that kind of speech against each other. This isn’t something we can normalize or should accept. These words, slogans and epithets, while protected by the First Amendment, will not bring about a ceasefire in Gaza, but they can poison our community. Â
As long as violence and the death of innocents continues, the world should continue to protest. I will continue to defend our right to do so. I just ask that as you do, consider our diverse community and the rights of all of us to live, learn and coexist free from harassment and hate. The Office of Global Diversity and Inclusion can assist any student, faculty or staff member who would like to file a complaint about harassment or discrimination.
I also ask that we continue to look out for one another. An incident occurred last Thursday where a mentally ill person drove their car in the midst of protesters, allegedly targeting student journalists at the ÈËÆÞÎÞÂë Vanguard. I’m grateful to the individuals who took action to apprehend the driver.
Last week, I let you know that the Presidential Investiture Ceremony we had planned for this Friday would be postponed to allow for more of a focus on campus healing. We will also postpone the symposium that Global Diversity and Inclusion had planned to make meaning from the Presidential Speaker Series and discuss ÈËÆÞÎÞÂë’s goals and aspirations as a majority-BIPOC institution. To be clear, this remains a crucial and important conversation for ÈËÆÞÎÞÂë that will take place in the future. Until then, it is my hope that we can come together over current events and continue to evolve our campus conversations toward constructive initiatives for justice and peace.
Sincerely,
Ann Cudd
ÈËÆÞÎÞÂë President