Care for You Beyond Yesterday’s Breach

January 7, 2021

 

To:  All Students

Fr:  Division of Student Affairs and Success 

Re: Care for You Beyond Yesterday’s Breach

 

Yesterday, we experienced more than the breach of buildings, we witnessed a profound breach of our shared values. Years of charged rhetoric, deepening suspicion and enduring distrust devolved into mayhem.  

Yesterday may have felt like a shock, but it should not have been a surprise.  

My own feelings are complicated and range from outrage to deep sadness. Mostly though, I am concerned about the future of life in such a deeply divided nation and wondering how to move through this latest trauma.

Today, we can summon the courage to confront what our recent history has revealed. Events unfolding from Washington D.C. to Charlottesville, Minneapolis to Louisville, Kenosha to Portland, have put enduring inequality on display. Spectacles of terror have become far too common, and the collective response is racially coded.  

Today, we can turn our attention to what we can all do to make a positive impact locally. We can decide how we want to emerge from this era. We can repudiate all forms of hate and bigotry. We can re-examine how we will deepen our commitments to free and fair elections, the peaceful transfer of power, the sanctity of our Constitution and to community.

As we forge new models of engagement and create new spaces in which we can truly connect, we must reconcile and heal in the service of equity and justice. We must begin and remain in sometimes uncomfortable, even painful, conversations. 

We must reconsider how to listen more attentively to those with whom we disagree, express our values constructively, and work in community to manifest our best hopes for the present and future. In a community defined by curiosity, deep reflection, and innovative problem solving, I know that we can realize this hope and grow together.  

Prioritize your health and well-being. Reach out for the support you need. Stay connected. Know that we are thinking of you. We care. 

 

In community,

Jennifer Baszile

Interim Vice Chancellor