An Email from President Wyatt to Monmouth College Students About Unrest in the Nation
'Through your lives of leadership and service, of courage and caring, Monmouth College will make its greatest contribution to the advancement of our nation.'
MONMOUTH, Ill. (06/02/2020) — The following email was sent earlier today from Monmouth College President Clarence R. Wyatt to the students of Monmouth College.
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To the Students of Monmouth College:
The events of the last several days in our country are tragic for all Americans. That tragedy is, of course, felt most profoundly by those among us who directly carry the burden and the consequences of the racial prejudice that, despite the efforts of many people over many years, still exists in our society. That prejudice manifests itself in many ways, sometimes with deadly consequence.
But the degree to which any one of us, or any group of Americans, is denied the full rights and promises of our citizenship, we are all diminished.
Among those rights and promises is the ability to demonstrate peacefully, and throughout our country over these last days we have many examples of people of all backgrounds coming together in exercising that right. We have also seen some people turn that peaceful exercise toward violence, resulting in the destruction of property and the loss of life. Violence of any kind cannot build -- it can only destroy.
In response to these events, I ask that you join in doing the work that we do best -- to be a place of teaching and learning. During the spring and fall of 2019, we worked as a campus to bring greater focus and energy to understanding how some members of our campus community do not feel a full sense of belonging and to act on that understanding.
Over the summer, I invite your thoughts and ideas, and call for us to redouble our efforts when we return to campus in the fall. The recently formed Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, which evolved from and now replaces the earlier All of Us Together effort, will coordinate this work, but it will take all of us. We can ask the tough questions of each other, have the uncomfortable conversations, but do so always with the mutual respect that we are all due as members of this community.
As is the case for our society as a whole, so it is for Monmouth College -- we each should, we each must, feel that we each have our place in this company of Noble Scots. For it is through your lives of leadership and service, of courage and caring, that Monmouth College will make its greatest contribution to the advancement of our nation.
Confusion, despair, and anger are natural reactions to times such as these. In the end, it is by acting with hope and resolve, and in the knowledge that we share in our common humanity as children of God, that we will move forward.
I look forward to staying in touch with you all over the next several weeks. Lobie and I wish you a safe and restful summer, and we can't wait to see you in August.
Peace,
Dr. Clarence R. Wyatt
President