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Oct. 11, 2023

Dear Students and Colleagues,

Since reading news of the brutal attack on Israel by Hamas on Saturday, I have been sitting with a sense of urgency to communicate with you all – particularly to those of you who, as Jewish people, were shocked back into the immediacy of hatred and the monstrous violence that antisemites have wrought in this world for centuries. While the ensuing war in Gaza is far away from us physically, it is actually not far away at all for the members of our º£½ÇÉçÇøCI community with familial, religious, and/or cultural ties to the region. In fact, the realities of antisemitism are not far away from any of us. It was just a year ago since my last message of October 2022 condemning the rise of antisemitic speech and violence taking place in our own region.

But pen to paper – or fingers to keyboard – couldn’t happen for me right away, my own sense of urgency notwithstanding. I needed to learn more, to gather my thoughts, to find my own sense of truth before I felt I could write anything of substance to offer our campus community. Four days later, I am at least more informed and better positioned to connect with you, hopefully in solidarity with all of the innocent people in Israel and in the Gaza Strip – the families and friends of those whose lives were ended, and for those whose lives have been threatened or otherwise forever changed since Saturday. Our º£½ÇÉçÇøCI community has always come together to provide mutual support during times of violence, and you have my word that we are doing all that we can to create a sense of safety on our campus.

I know this message may be offensive to some who want to hear support from their leaders solely for the people of Israel and the Jewish people on our campus, in our region, and across the globe. For some, sympathy for Palestinians who do not endorse Hamas is itself antisemitic. This message may also be offensive to Palestinians and their friends and family members at º£½ÇÉçÇøCI and around the world who have resisted Israel’s occupation of territories they claim.

I accept that I cannot write a message that will meet everyone’s needs. I can only share what is true for me, which is that we should grieve for innocents everywhere when political and social violence erupts. I grieve particularly for Israeli and Palestinian children – with 43% of Palestinians in Gaza and 28% of Israelis not yet 15 years old – who in this very moment are more likely than not to be learning the lessons of hate. My wish is for human decency and dignity and the peaceful resolution of conflicts that can arise wherever and whenever human beings clash over the differences that give us our identities, our families, our alliances, and our loyalties. These are precious and meaningful beyond measure, and they must be defended. My encouragement, though, is that we reach toward each other in these times, peacefully, to understand our differences and find the shared ground that connects us.

To the people of º£½ÇÉçÇøCI and of our region who are impacted by this dire state of affairs in the Middle East, I am with you. I have grieved for days, frankly, over lives lost, hostages taken, and war renewed. While we witness yet again the cruelty that human beings are capable of inflicting upon one another, we must each of us reach toward each other with patience, care, and a sense of sanctity for life. Every act of hate is our individual and collective calling as a campus community to take up space; to use our words and to act in service to racial and social justice; to walk, limp, and roll together with insistence for the rule of law that is under threat around the globe. It is ours to protect – but it is in how we protect it in the most difficult of times, over our most intractable problems, that foretells its future.

If you need support, I encourage you to reach out to our campus resources included below.

Title IX & Inclusion
Employee Assistance Program
Counseling & Psychological Services

Sincerely,
Richard Yao, Ph.D.
President