Presidential Statement: Solidarity with our Asian-American and Asian neighbors and colleagues
President Rebecca Stoltzfus sent the following statement to all students and employees on March 18, 2021.
At the start of the pandemic a year ago, I expressed solidarity with and commitment to our Asian-American, Asian and Pacific Islander (AAPI) students and employees, whose racial and ethnic communities were under assault. Today, racism and violence against AAPI individuals and groups continues and is increasing in intensity. Now more than ever, we must continue to stand in solidarity and commitment with AAPI people — including the students and employees on our campus — deeply affected by blame, hate, discrimination, racism and violence.
Recent horrific events throughout our nation, including those in Atlanta, Georgia and Oakland, California, highlight the ways that anti-AAPI violence further intersects with bias toward the elderly and toward women. Racist and violent behavior against the AAPI community must stop. Scapegoating must stop, harassment must stop and hate must stop.
This is not tolerated on our campus or within our college community. If you or someone you know encounters a bias-related incident on our campus, please follow the procedures in place to report incidents here. You can also visit the Bias Matters Response Team website to learn more about the team members, policy and procedures.
Through the challenges and suffering of the past year we have learned a great deal. In the midst of very real fears and losses, there have also been new realizations, intentional connections and modified behaviors. In a recent blog post, I wrote about how we might be changed for the better.
Let us be rooted in the Way of Jesus, the sign of which is love. Let us see and feel the connections between us as global citizens, and explore the ethical obligations that follow from those connections. As passionate learners, let us be curious about the people and nations of the world.
Be well, keep learning and stay connected.
President Rebecca Stoltzfus