George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tamir Rice, Philando Castile, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, Michael Brown and many, many others have lost their lives as victims of violence and racism. These lives were taken because a system or a person or a group decided they did not matter. Today, in our communities and in our nation, we are called to make positive change.
The University Life teams based at the Arlington and Science & Technology Campuses, in partnership with our colleagues across the Mason Nation, are committed to working, partnering, and leading that change on our campuses and beyond. We stand with you.
We acknowledge the systematic oppression and trauma our Black students and colleagues face every single day in our community. We believe and stand with the Black Lives Matter movement. We firmly believe that we must be a part of the work to support Black students and colleagues and to address systemic racism in our community and on our campuses. University Life Arlington and University Life SciTech are committed to being a part of the deep and important work to support racial justice.
- We will do this by working to understand our privileges.
- We will do this by promising to not burden our Black colleagues to educate us, but instead by actively engaging in this work and by listening and supporting initiatives and programs shared by Black voices.
- We will lift up black voices because they deserve to be heard because Black lives matter.
- We will do this by being vocal and active in conversations and movements that support the Mason Black community.
- We will do this by devoting time and resources to educating ourselves about the needs of Black students on each of our campuses.
- We will do this by centering the voices of Black scholars, students, practitioners, and survivors in our community as we work to be a part of creating an inclusive university community.
- We will take the time to listen and hear what is happening around us, and we will do the hard work that is needed.
- We will acknowledge our biases and missteps and we will continually strive to do better.
University Life across each of Mason’s campuses and locations shares with you a collective commitment to a society in which all public officials are held accountable for advancing the well-being of the people they serve. We dream with you of a system of justice that consistently upholds human dignity and the equal protection of law. Please reach out if you are interested in initiating or actively engaging in dialogue or programming at any of Mason’s campuses or locations. We stand with you in community, in support of our Black students and colleagues. We will not stand in silence.
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Melissa Thierry, Associate Director, University Life Arlington
Michael Galvin, Associate Director, Univerisity Life SciTech
Lori Scher, Assistant Dean, University Life Regional Campuses