Dear Campus Community,
As we await the arrival of spring and turn the corner toward the end
of another academic year, our UMD community continues to be challenged
in our efforts toward equity, inclusion, and social justice. We have
once again seen an increase in overt demonstrations of hate and
intolerance, behaviors that run counter to our values as a community.
None of this is unique to UMD. Across the nation there has been a rise
in hate crimes and rhetoric against under-represented members of our
communities. However, it is happening here, and we must take a strong
stance against it. UMD has overtly stated in our
strategic plan
, through our values and goals and Campus Climate Initiative a
strong commitment to equity and social justice. As a learning community,
we must be prepared to call ourselves and each other out when we fall
short and educate ourselves as we strive to do better.
Over the weekend, there were several expressions found on social
media and geotagged from UMD that fall short of our values and goals. We
want you to know that we are aware of these incidents, along with
others. We are tracking them and we are doing what we can to mitigate
their harmful impact. Incidents of hate and intolerance that appear in
certain social media platforms are often difficult to track, making
identification of the person responsible not possible. We have taken
steps to flag inappropriate content on snapchat that has been geotagged
to UMD. Such expressions that are obviously hurtful do not sustain the
values we aspire to achieve.
Building a campus climate that encourages and supports equity,
inclusion, and social justice is about more than one incident, or one
person - it is about systems, structures, and each one of us. It is up
to all of us to demonstrate our valuing of equity and inclusion and of
each other as members of the UMD community. We ALL have a responsibility
as members of the UMD community to educate ourselves, to be leaders
toward inclusion, and to do what we can to influence others to act
through the lens of Goal 2 of our strategic plan. We want to also remind
you of the importance of reporting any incidents that undermine and
damage a safe, respectful, and diverse campus climate.
Report those incidents here.
If you are feeling unsafe at any time or for any reason you can call 911 immediately. We invite you to seek out additional
campus resources.
Together, we can be the change we wish to see.
Sincerely,
Lendley C. Black
Chancellor
