The following message from Chancellor Syverud was sent to the campus community today.
Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff:
Like so many of you, I have been following the news coverage of events taking place in Baltimore this week and I want to recognize the impact this is having on our students and our campus community.
While violence is never an acceptable response, we must all take the time to recognize the frustration and pain so many Americans experience every day as a result of economic and social injustices. The pain is real. You do not need to have a personal connection to Baltimore, Ferguson or any other city in this country where similar events have occurred to feel the impact.
Here on campus we have our own work to do. Recent events have sparked harmful dialogue on social media channels that does not reflect our core values as an open and inclusive community. As I have indicated before, it is very important for an academic institution to support free speech. However, Syracuse University does not condone hate speech of any kind, whether in-person or via social media, anonymous or identified.
Each of us in our community has a responsibility to students and to each other. We must each work to offer an environment at this University that is respectful, safe, and supportive.
As we finish up these final days of the semester together, let’s remember why we are here. Let’s continue our efforts to be the kind of place where people from different backgrounds and with different perspectives can learn from each other; and where we can work together respectfully to make things better.
Next week thousands of Syracuse graduates will leave here and go out into the world. They are an incredible group from every background and discipline. Every single one of them made a difference here and helped define Syracuse University. As we honor the graduates at Commencement, let’s remember that we all belong here and define our school.
Sincerely,
