EDWARDSVILLE – Southern Illinois University Edwardsville students and staff showed strong unity on Wednesday morning in a planned walk/rally outside the Vadalbene Center on campus.
The rally occurred after some alleged events have occurred targeting different students in the wake of President-elect Donald Trump’s recent win over Hillary Clinton.
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The walk and gathering was to show the culture of tolerence and inclusion that has always existed at SIUE. The gathering was organized over Facebook by the SIUE Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance. Another primary purpose of the event was to show a rejection of some instances of alleged bigotry through racism that has occurred on campus.
SIUE Chancellor Randy Pembrook issued a statement to the student body as follows:
“As a historic presidential race came to a close earlier this week, the news was received across our nation and college campuses with various emotions. In my short tenure as your chancellor, I’ve quickly come to admire and appreciate SIUE’s campus environment where students, faculty and staff freely express themselves and opinions are valued. We are enriched through open dialogue and respectful intellectual discourse that remains free of “any form of injustice, oppression or violence.”
Pembrook continued to say: “I am extremely disappointed to hear of some stories circulating that allude to verbal displays of intolerance on campus. Although I have not received official word related to any such instances, please trust that I will work with our senior leadership team to address any actions that violate campus rules and values. We will work to maintain a safe, secure and inclusive campus environment for all students, faculty and staff.
“This is a time for us to put aside whatever ideological differences there may be and work together to continually improve our community in the days ahead. There will always be differences in political perspectives, social backgrounds and experiences, but as an intellectual community, we choose to cherish and respect those differences at SIUE.”
Pembrook closed by saying: ”As we head to the holiday season, let’s reassure each other that we continue to support one another in our daily effort to change the world for the better.”
