November 16, 2016
A Letter from the University of Rochester Community:
We, the undersigned faculty and staff at the University of Rochester, are united against intimidation, violence, and bigotry. Hateful words and actions have no place in a community dedicated to a search for knowledge. Democracy cannot thrive if education is no longer valued. There is nothing elitist about a respect for learning. We cherish the right to free speech; we prize civil discourse. Treating one another with dignity is not oppressive political correctness.
Over the last eighteen months we have witnessed an election fueled by demagoguery, lies, and threats by a president-elect who shows contempt for many of the values at the heart of our campus community—from intellectual integrity and a love of knowledge to basic respect for all persons and the virtues of kindness, compassion, inclusiveness, public-mindedness, veracity, and justice. This is not populism: it is reckless cynicism.
We stand in solidarity with those who have been targeted by these open expressions of hostility. Words have consequences. We hold our elected officials accountable for the words they use. We condemn threatening language that incites a culture of intolerance. We are inspired by Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass, who made their homes here in Rochester and dedicated their lives to the struggle for justice and equality. Their dignified protest continues to serve as a model for those of us who seek change.
As members of the university community, we commit ourselves every day to the mission of education. We value critical thinking, creative expression, evidence-based reasoning, and scientific inquiry. We support one another and will resist efforts to divide us. In the days and weeks ahead, we will work assiduously to ensure that the University of Rochester does everything it can to afford the necessary protections for those members of our community who may be exposed to heightened risks. If you have specific concerns or insights, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.
For those who want to participate in the ongoing dialogue, please visit us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teachersforajustsociety/.
Sincerely,
Tatyana Bakhmetyeva
Melissa Balmain
Joanne Bernardi
Kirstin Doughty
Joshua Dubler
William FitzPatrick
Jennifer Grotz
Sarah Higley
Bethany Lacina
James Longenbach
Kathryn Mariner
Anna Rosensweig
Nora Rubel
Joan Rubin
Joan Saab
Stephen Schottenfeld
Joanna Scott
Llerena Searle
Jeffrey Tucker
Stewart Weaver
Anne Merideth
Abby Comstock-Gay
Janet Catherine Berlo
Heather Layton
Douglas Crimp
Allen C. Topolski
Grace Seiberling
Andrew Cappetta
Rachel Haidu
Elizabeth Cohen
Paul Duro
Sharon Willis
Jon Tresan
Gregory C. DeAngelis
Florian Jaeger
Kaitlin Brown
Jessica Cantlon
Jonathan Mink
Richard Aslin
Deborah K.W. Modrak
Jannick Rolland
Tatiana Pasternak
Christopher J. Bates
Steven Piantadosi
Bradford Mahon
Michael K. Tanenhaus
Jeffrey T. Runner
Rei Akaishi
Jacob W. Lewis
Ezra Tawil
Mary Jane Curry
Ed Brockenbrough
Lynda Woedy McGarry
Kara Finnigan
Scott Grimm
Jacob Yates
Tai C Kwong
Scott MacrRae MD
Goker Erdogan
Dena Phillips Swanson
Doug Guiffrida
James Farrar
William Brennessel
Rudi Fasan
Kara Bren
Benjamin Hafensteiner
Karen DeAngelis
Sarah Heilbronner
Laura Brophy
Keturah Bixby
Chelsea R Marsh
Nancy Ares
Ray Teng
Benjamin Hayden
Benjamin Zinszer
Dan Watson
John Nichol
Robert Emerson
Joanne Larson
Brett Sherman
Paul F Slattery
Kevin McFarland
Camille Martina
Chelsea BaileyShea
Samantha Daley
Katherine Mannheimer
Jason Middleton
Jim Memmott
Bette London
Solveiga Armoskaite
Nigel Maister
Brian Brent
Joel Burges
Supritha Rajan
John Michael
Courtney Lussier
Todd Krauss
Kenneth Gross
Morris Eaves
Russell A. Peck
Thomas Gibson
John Osburg
Pablo Sierra
Randall Curren
Glenn Mackin
William Miller
Matthew Lenoe
Catherine Lewis
Thomas Devaney
Ozlem Yildiz
Thomas Fleischman
Renhild Steingröver
Rick McRae
Larry Hudson
Steven Rozenski
June Hwang
James Johnson Professor Political Science
Molly Ball
Thomas Hahn
Marie-Joëlle Estrada
Robert Foster
Kathy Nordeen
Mari Tsuchiya
Shraddha Shah
Juliet Sullivan
Robert McManmon
Michael Jarvis
Katherine Schaefer
Peter Christensen
Elizabeth Colantoni
Evelyne Leblanc-Roberge
Emily Prentiss
Patrick Oakes
Laura A. Smoller
Carmala Garzione
Whitney Gregg-Harrison
Jean Pedersen
Kevin Scantlen
Alison Peterman
Berkeley Fahrenthold
Robert Berkman
Alan Unsworth
Solomon Blaylock
Marsháll Troidl
Yonathan Shapir
Joseph Eberly
Michela Andreatta
Edward Wierenga
Curt Cadorette
Susan Gustafson
Beth E. Jörgensen
Associate Professor of Voice Jan Opalach
Terry Platt
Ellen Koskoff
Sylvie Beaudette
Ayala Emmett
Vasilii Petrenko
Dallas Oestara
Lee T. Murray
Thomas Weber
Mauricio Ibanez-Mejia
Iskandar Zulkarnain
Dirk Bohmann
Elinor Freer
Denise Yarbrough
Dr. Alison d’Amato
David Siegel
David Ruskin
Esther Arnold
Andrea Feldman
Robin Damrad Frye
Christie Petrenko
Margery Hwang
Nora Dimmock
Frank Garcea
Alice Quillen
Jonathan Baldo
Jason M. Peck
Daniel Borus
Dustin Trail
Theodore M. Brown, History Department
Kristina Becker Malett
Nadine Grimm
Katherine Ciesinski
Susan H McDaniel
Stephen Schultz
Kevin Fiscella
Ellen Poleshuck
Tziporah Rosenberg
Elizabeth Naumburg
Holly Russell
Emily Jusino
Stu Jordan
Amy Yosha
Subrina Farah
Elena Bellina
Carl Hagen
Wallace E. Johnson, MD
Mahala Schlagman, MD
Rosemary Kegl
Nancy Chin
Nancy M. Bennett
Thomas T. Fogg
Rafael Klorman
Ron Epstein
Alison Peterman
