Statement From President Sarah Bolton Regarding Racist Facebook Posts

On Saturday evening, Jan. 13, President Sarah Bolton sent the following message to all students, faculty, and staff at The College of Wooster:
Dear College of Wooster Community,
Today the College was made aware of several Facebook posts by a Wooster student that were filled with hateful and explicitly racist language and arguments. The posts particularly targeted African Americans, but also included racist comments about Latinos, and anti-Semitic statements. The content of the posts was appalling, and profoundly violated what Wooster stands for. The College has reported these posts to the City of Wooster police, and has begun its own investigation.
Racism and hate must have no place in our community. The College’s civility statement puts it clearly, “We pledge to stand united against hate by creating and contributing to safe learning environments in our community. We respect and value the commonalities and differences among us – celebrating the uniqueness of each individual and recognizing it takes all people to make a college community.”
It is crucial that The College of Wooster be a truly equitable and inclusive space, where a diverse community of students, staff and faculty can live, work and thrive, free of any kind of discriminatory or racist acts and the harms that they cause. We know we have not yet reached that goal, but we must continue to work toward it – urgently, relentlessly and together.
There will be a gathering tomorrow [Sunday] evening at 8 p.m. in Lowry, to which all students, staff and faculty are invited. I hope that many in the Wooster community will come to this gathering, to support and stand with the communities that have been targeted, and to share our values, as Scots.
Sincerely,
Sarah Bolton
President

Posted in Announcements on January 14, 2018.