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Dear Members of the Sarah Lawrence Community,
As the campus returns from spring break and we enter the final weeks of the semester, I want to share reflections on a range of concerns about which I have heard from many in our community and the ways in which I and the College are listening and responding.
We are living in extraordinarily polarized times, in a world profoundly impacted by geopolitical events to which members of our community have deep, complex, and often multi-generational connections. The horror of the events on and following October 7, the depth of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and the breadth of human tragedy fill us with anger and sadness. It is an understatement to say that this is a challenging time to be a student, faculty, or staff member on a college or university campus.
Compounding the tensions of geopolitical externalities are significant headwinds facing higher education in the U.S. as public trust in the work of our institutions erodes, when the value of our education is questioned, and when our values are under attack. In the face of these, we must continue to stand for open discourse and academic freedom, for fighting against ignorance and misinformation, for fostering a spirit of critical inquiry, and for engagement that begins from a generosity of spirit.
Like other colleges and universities, we are hearing concerns from members of our community who are proceeding from fundamentally and foundationally different perspectives. These communications include proposals for divestment, calls for disengagement with Israeli institutions, and demands for statements, as well as accusations of antisemitism. In the world of instantaneous social media and the attendant echo chambers it can create, as an institution of higher education it is more vital than ever that we take time to listen and to exist in dialogue in community. And, in the process of doing so, it is crucial that we uphold our unwavering top priority: the safety and well-being of our students. As I aim to share with you some of the ways we are responding to the concerns we’re hearing, I hope that this letter will provide a place for us to establish common understanding.
Supporting our Students
Above all, we are steadfastly focused on our commitment to provide an environment in which all of our students — regardless of background, belief, or circumstance — have the unimpeded opportunity to actively and fully participate in the educational experience that is at the center of Sarah Lawrence’s mission. As a charge, this has never been easy and it has become exponentially more difficult in the present political moment. Since my arrival at the College, especially through the various stages of the pandemic and now in the tumult of this year, I have tried to begin each day by taking a moment to focus on that goal and how we will ensure that we meet it. That has guided my decision-making during challenging moments, of which there have been, and will continue to be, many. The tenets to which I turn to support that goal are the College’s Principles of Mutual Respect.
In recent months we have intensified our efforts to meet the needs of our students in this rapidly changing global environment, to hear and acknowledge their concerns, to respond appropriately, including at times challenging their assumptions, and to provide support and resources. I am deeply grateful to Vice President and Dean of Students Dave Stanfield for his leadership as he has held weekly meetings with various groups of students and student leaders along with critical support from the offices of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging; Health & Wellness; Residential Life; and Campus Safety. Guided by our Principles of Mutual Respect, we seek to foster, value, and defend honest and open discourse and free expression on our campus. As we do so, I am grateful to our students for observing and respecting campus protocols regarding uses of spaces, meetings, and protests that provide the shared framework necessary for that open discourse and free expression. Overwhelmingly, I believe our students have worked hard to respect one another at a moment when it is all too easy to interpret words and actions as hostile or to dehumanize those who don’t share each other’s views. That is not to say that this ongoing dialogue has been free from tensions and missteps, but I believe we have dealt — and continue to deal — with them openly and forthrightly. I am proud of that work on our campus, and proud of our students, who have displayed courage and openness through this time.
I communicated with you earlier this year about the critical work underway to renovate theSiegel Center, transforming the Pub into the “HUB”, a center for Humanity, Understanding, and Belonging that will serve as a new locus of interaction, create affinity spaces that support students of color, LGBTQIA+ students, and SLC’s religious and spiritual groups, and locate together in one place work led by students over the last number of decades. Additionally, there will be community spaces open to all students, including a lounge, a shared dining area, and two communal kitchens (one of which is designated as kosher/halal). Fostering belonging by creating intimate spaces for meeting and greeting, for intercultural dialogue and programming, for difficult conversations, for preparing and sharing food, and for building a tight-knit supportive community is the cornerstone of this critically important project.
Combating Antisemitism
Charges and instances of antisemitism are occurring on college campuses and Sarah Lawrence has not been immune from this. We fully acknowledge that these experiences have been recorded at various times over SLC’s history without appropriate action, and we are resolute in committing to a positive campus climate for all, now and in the future.
While I will say unequivocally that there is no place for antisemitism — or Islamophobia or hate speech of any kind — on our campus, it is not enough to simply say that. In late October we began what has become one of our most productive and genuinely hopeful responses: the formation on campus of a council of various Jewish student groups, including SLC-Hillel, HuJews (Humanistic Jews), and other interested students, to hear their experiences and to work together for productive solutions. We have made tremendous progress through this collaboration. One area of particular concern and interest to the students is the implementation of media literacy training, given the level of disinformation to which students are exposed. More broadly, we have updated and strengthened our bias incident reporting system. We have also launched an expanded anti-bias training for orientation with new modules on antisemitism and Islamophobia that students helped create. And, as described above, students are actively engaged with us in guiding the transformation of the Siegel Center, which will create a new space in which spiritual life can thrive and that will open in fall 2024.
Response to Calls for Divestment
The Investment Committee of the Board of Trustees discussed calls for divestment that we have received and concluded that the College’s current policies and investment strategy are sound and responsible. A number of years ago, Sarah Lawrence made the decision to no longer directly manage our modest endowment nor select individual portfolio investments, but rather to employ an Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO), Commonfund, a nonprofit organization, to manage the College's endowment and investments. The approach does not include direct holdings by the College into individual companies. But to be clear, even though SLC is not invested directly, divestment from the broad list of U.S. and multinational companies cited in demands we received is not something the College’s Investment Committee nor the Board of Trustees as a whole would endorse. To also clear up some apparent misunderstanding, neither annual gifts to the College nor tuition are part of our endowment; those dollars go directly to the support of our students, faculty, and campus through our operating budget.
Engaging with Academic and Cultural Institutions From All Over the World
A boycott of Israeli academic and cultural institutions, including universities and their students and faculties, as some have called for, is anathema to principles of academic freedom and intellectual exchange. The voices of scholars working in the region deserve our attention as they work on the issues and focus on paths for peace. We pride ourselves on being a global community, and we will not and cannot exclude interaction and exchange with students, faculty, and staff from Israel or Israeli institutions. We do not and will not discriminate against any person on the basis of identity, nationality, or country of origin.
Calls for Statements
To ongoing demands that I issue statements on behalf of the College, I would respectfully respond that rather than seeking to make the College the focus of action, as such demands do, far more effective is doing the work on the ground, as I know our students and our alums are doing day in and day out, using their Sarah Lawrence education to effect change.
Alumni Engagement
I am always inspired by alums who speak of their profound love for the College and its transformative role in their lives. It's a reminder that their engagement not only honors their own journey but also contributes to ensuring the Sarah Lawrence experience remains accessible for future students. Our tireless efforts to increase access to SLC for a socioeconomically diverse student body is possible only with the support of our community. Some among our alumni have indicated an intent to disengage from the College if we don’t respond as they have asked. To them I say: one most effectively helps change and improve the College by engaging with it, not by withdrawing from it. While a withdrawal of attendance at events or participation in giving and recruitment would undoubtedly be a disappointment for the College, those who suffer most will be our current students who directly benefit from alumni giving and interactions, and our recent graduates who are deprived of critical networking opportunities.
Charting a Path Forward
I am well aware that I have likely left some unsatisfied with these reflections, but I wanted you to hear firsthand how the College is responding to some of the challenges we face as a community. There is extraordinary work being done daily by our students and faculty that I hope you are following on our website and social media, but there can be no doubt that the current news and geopolitical upheaval are a source of constant and deep concern, pervading much of what we do. This should be the case for an informed citizenry at a moment of an almost unfathomable humanitarian crisis, and it is our role as a college to provide the space and support for our students to process, understand, and work through these concerns. As part of that work, the College is convening and elevating voices that need to be heard. Critical programming last fall that those beyond campus may not be aware of included a panel, open only to members of the campus community, on Israel/Palestine with SLC facultyPhilipp Nielsen (history), Matthew Ellis (history), Kristin Sands (religion), and Mark Shulman(history/law). Later this month Jodi Rudoren, former bureau chief of The New York Times in Jerusalem and current editor-in-chief of the Forward, will deliver the annual Bozeman Lecture, which is open to the public. Another panel will take place on April 16 on the topic, “Israel/Palestine: What’s Next?”; our distinguished guest speakers will be: Peter Beinart, Leila Farsakh, Lihi Ben Shitrit, and Sa’ed Atshan.
I’d like to return to the central focus of this letter: our foremost goal is to ensure that all our students are able to take full advantage of the amazing opportunities this College offers, especially in times such as these. What we do best is create an environment for listening and learning. Whatever challenges we face, we will continue to do so together.
Many of you write and share thoughts with me on issues of all sorts, for which I am grateful. I close by sharing (with her permission) two brief excerpts from a letter I received from an alumna, Stephanie Krasnow Schamess ’58, who eloquently captures the critical role of a Sarah Lawrence education at this moment:
[P]olarization is not helpful if the end goal is to provide a workable solution which will require encouraging peaceful or at least civil relationships between the two peoples who will have to live with that solution. ... It’s easy to jump on a bandwagon which is against an already unpopular action. It’s much harder to be for something which requires empathy, in-depth understanding, and critical thinking, all of which are qualities that Sarah Lawrence prides itself on fostering.
Yours,
Cristle Collins Judd
President
president@sarahlawrence.edu
Instagram: @slcprez