Published June 02, 2020
By 02, 2020
Dear Members of the UW Community,
As I am sure you are all seeing in Wyoming or wherever you may be, many communities around the nation are in turmoil in reaction to the killing of George Floyd, and to the history of racism, intolerance and bigotry and their terrible outcomes that this event signifies to people across the nation and across the world. Newspapers and television networks are showing daily what is happening in cities like Minneapolis, New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and elsewhere, telling a painful narrative of national upheaval that is perhaps unparalleled since the era of the civil rights movement of the 1960s.
The national reaction is widespread, and certainly not limited to cities. The small university community where I have lived the last six years, amid fields of corn and soybeans, experienced significant peaceful protests to show solidarity with brown, black and other communities. But we also experienced violence, including vandalism, looting and gunshots being fired. All three of our nearby towns of Champaign (pop. 88,000), Urbana (pop. 42,000) and Savoy (pop. 8,400) went under curfew Sunday evening for the first time that anyone I know can recall; a limited reopening of our campus was postponed; and numerous activities, even long-planned events that were to be virtual, including a board meeting I was to attend yesterday, were canceled.
This upheaval is a distress call to us all. It is a distress call that we must continue to be vigilant about the continuing racism, bigotry and intolerance that have no place in our community. It is a distress call from our friends, family and colleagues who, even if they are safe at home in this COVID-19 crisis and are not directly experiencing violence against them at this moment, feel a sympathetic nerve has been touched that causes pain very, very deep inside.
Yesterday, I had emails from two different people expressing the very personal distress they are experiencing as a result of recent events. One, from an African-American colleague, asked us to please know that black and brown people who may seem to be relatively removed from this turmoil are actually experiencing very deeply felt trauma in response to not only the recent events, but to what they signify about our society. She soldiered on and attended meetings, but in her words, “we are not OK” and need support. Another, from international Hispanic communities, urged international members of his research team to be very careful going out of their homes, or better yet, to avoid it completely. So, I ask you all to please think very deeply about these events, and especially to reach out to your friends and colleagues, and ask them how they are. Ask them what you can do to help them. Ask them how we together can help address the larger issues that these feelings reveal about our society. And commit to it.
Chief Diversity Officer Emily Monago wrote yesterday to our community to draw attention to these events and to reaffirm the values of the University of Wyoming, and I think it is worth repeating some of her words: "During these unprecedented times, let us remember our University of Wyoming values where racism, violence, sexual violence, antisemitism, homophobia, transphobia, sexism, ableism, national origin, and other forms of disparate treatment, injustices and inequities are denounced. Let us stay committed to our resolve to educate our campus community to interrupt, stop and eliminate inequities, injustices and violence from our society at the local, regional, national and global levels. Let us resolve to be a united community regardless of social identities or beliefs.”
I want to reaffirm that the University of Wyoming does, and will continue, to uphold these values. Further, diversity and inclusion make our community strong, vital and vibrant. They are absolutely necessary for the excellence we strive for. They require a commitment from all of us, every day, to embrace our shared university values actively, not passively. And they require a commitment that we care for one another in order to create a sense of well-being across our community. I ask you all to do just this at this time in our history, and to commit with me to continue do everything in your power to ensure that our diverse university community thrives in the future. It will make us all, and the university we serve, better for it.
Sincerely,
President-Designate Edward Seidel