MCC Daily Tribune

Calling For Unity In The Face of Tragedy

As a college community, we are heartbroken over the tragic loss of life that we continue to experience in our country. In just the last two weeks we have experienced the senseless murder of two African-American shoppers at a Kroger's grocery store in Kentucky and the massacre of eleven worshipers who were attending a service at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pennsylvania. As a society, we cannot accept hate in any form or allow it to overshadow the freedoms that we value deeply in our country. It is only when those freedoms are exercised with a commitment to humanity and dignity for all that we can live in peace with respect for our differences and our connections.

Let us take a moment to reaffirm Monroe Community College's commitment to diversity and inclusiveness, which includes freedom of religion. To students, faculty and staff who have been impacted not only by these tragedies, but by any others that have occurred, please remember to seek assistance so that you are taking care of your personal and emotional well-being. Students can seek counseling services at the Counseling Center on the Brighton Campus, and at the Student Engagement Center on the Downtown Campus. Employees can seek assistance through the Employee Assistance Program at 1-800-822-0244.

As we move forward and strive to both heal and learn from these tragedies, I encourage you to join the Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Project's 27th annual Kristallnacht programs Monday, Nov. 5, featuring historian James Waller Ph.D., author of "Confronting Evil: Engaging Our Responsibility to Prevent Genocide" (Oxford University Press, 2016). The programs are at noon and 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 5 at MCC's Downtown and Brighton campuses, respectively.

Calvin Gantt
President's Office
10/30/2018