I write to you in outrage over the violent deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, along with many more Black and African American folxs at the hands of police brutality.  I acknowledge that many students, faculty, and staff feel tremendous pain, anger, and sadness. 

Know that the Graduate, Professional, & Adult Student Life team is here for you and is committed to creating spaces for Black and African American students to have your voices heard and to be in community.  We are also committed to creating dialogue and education on anti-racism frameworks and how to fight racial injustice for those who want to learn and create allyship.  This commitment is an ongoing and long term commitment of learning, growing, and building community.  We continue to collaborate with different university departments and resources.  We are also committed to looking at ourselves personally and as a department to learn, grow, and be advocates. 

This is a time for us to be grounded in our Jesuit ideals which calls us to service others through faith, justice, human dignity, and action.

Engaging in social justice and acts of solidarity can look many different ways. From attending a protest, signing a petition to support justice initiatives, donating to a fund dedicated to justice and/or uplifting the voices of the Black and African American communities, educating yourself on the deep rooted systemic oppression we have in the United States, interrupting anti-blackness, engaging in dialogue that challenges racial injustices, to using your platforms to support and engage in movements. 

Our university’s mission calls us to expand knowledge in the service of humanity through learning, justice, and faith.  Unless we support one another and work together, social justice work can very quickly become laborious and exhausting both emotionally and physically.  I encourage us to love, listen, and care for ourselves and one another. 

 

With love and in solidarity,

Astrid Beltrán

Program Director for Graduate, Professional, & Adult Student Life