Presidential statement: Standing against racism

Dear Goucher students and colleagues –

I’m sure like me, you were all stunned as we learned of the details behind the heinous murders of eight individuals, six of them Asian American women, in Georgia this week. While the precise motivation of the killer and what actually transpired in Atlanta remains under investigation, one thing is abundantly clear: Asian Americans have increasingly become the victims of hate crimes across America, egged on by the racist and xenophobic rants of a former president and a justice department that chose to look the other way.

However, we can’t look away. Last year, Asian Americans were targeted in 3,795 documented hate incidents according to a recent report by Stop AAPI Hate. Every day, news reports and graphic videos posted to social media make it abundantly clear that Asians and Asian Americans of all ages and gender are increasingly at risk of facing abuse, violence, and outright murder while simply going about their daily lives. It must stop.

I ask all of us to come together to condemn these acts of violence, but moreover to support our students, faculty, and staff of Asian and Pacific Islander heritage who may be at heightened risk of coming under attack. In times like these, when the threat of increasing violence and intimidation has spurred an even greater anxiety and fear throughout Asian American communities nationwide, we need to recognize that the Asian and Asian American students, faculty, and staff within our own Goucher community also need our support.

As a college we must unite in our ongoing efforts to eliminate racism, bigotry, and hate in whatever forms they might take not only in our communities but on our own campus, and to support each other in this important work. I would like to remind everyone that we all have a responsibility to be active participants in this work, and I hope you will join with me in availing yourself of the resources we have put in place, such as the Campus Climate Education Team, to help us create a more welcoming and inclusive Goucher community.

- Kent

Kent Devereaux, President