Important Message

Dear Campus Community,

In recent months we have all witnessed various senseless and tragic acts of violence and hate targeting the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community in our nation, especially since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The most recent of these incidents were this week’s shootings in Atlanta that resulted in the tragic loss of many innocent lives.

North Central College stands united in support of the AAPI community, including our own students, faculty, staff and alumni, and we unequivocally denounce all hateful and racially motivated acts of harassment and violence.

The Offices of Multicultural Affairs and Residence Life, with support from the DEI Task Force, joined forces and for some time have been organizing an AAPI Solidarity Week, March 29 - April 2, which will include a Fireside Chat dialogue event and a special guest speaker addressing issues that face the AAPI community. These offices will also provide resources that describe how to raise awareness and take action against racism and xenophobia toward the AAPI community.

The Office of Multicultural Affairs will provide more details and links to the events next week on the Hub and via email. We welcome and encourage you to participate and show your support for these members of our community and our country.

In the meantime, there are many ways we can support all students, faculty, staff and alumni to feel safe and valued, both at North Central College and in the larger community. Please offer each other support and assistance, interrupt hateful speech and behavior, and report bias incidents or acts of harassment.

We also encourage you to reach out to the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, the Office of Student Affairs, the Center for Global Education, the Dyson Wellness Center, the Bias Incident Response Team, Campus Safety, and any other trusted friend, faculty or staff member for support. At the end of this message, we have also provided a list of national resources.

We each have a commitment and a responsibility to respect and affirm one another as our College and our country continue grappling with the effects of racism, xenophobia and hatred. When every member of our community supports every other member of our community, we will all grow better and stronger and become a more inclusive community.

Best Regards,

Troy D. Hammond
President
Professor of Physics

Abiódún Gòkè-Pariolá
Provost
Professor of English

Stephen Maynard Caliendo
Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
Professor of Political Science
Co-Chair, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force

Dorothy Pleas
Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Multicultural Affairs
Co-Chair, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force

Additional National Resources:

Stop AAPI Hate – https://stopaapihate.org/
Asian Americans Advancing Justice –  https://www.advancingjustice-aajc.org/covid19
Racism Is A Virus – https://www.racismisavirus.com/