Dear Members of the Campus Community,

On Thursday March 17, Security Services reported that more swastika symbols were found on campus. This time the swastikas were found on the back of one of the indigenous plant signs posted in the woods between Wyatt and Thompson as part of a project in the Environmental Racism class conducted in collaboration with the Puyallup Tribal Language Program. We emphatically denounce these acts of hate in our community.

In addition to vigilance already provided by Security Services, we are working with leadership teams to conduct sweeps of campus areas to address any malicious vandalism, hate and antisemitic communications. If you know anything about the malicious vandalism taking place on campus, I strongly encourage you to report this information to Security Services at 253.879.3311 or anonymously by calling the University’s compliance hotline at 866.943.5787.

Vice President for Institutional Equity and Diversity Lorna Hernandez Jarvis and Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students Sarah Comstock are working together in collaboration with Chaplain Dave Wright on developing programmatic educational opportunities for members of the campus community to engage in eliminating hate activity on campus and more specifically to engage in addressing antisemitism. We are also working on developing stronger and more consistent ways to support Jewish members of the community.

In February, several university staff participated in a workshop hosted by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities with scholars from the Academic Engagement Network (AEN). AEN is an independently run non-profit organization that engages faculty and staff on campuses across the U.S. to counter antisemitism in higher education, promote campus free expression and academic freedom, and support research, education, and robust dialogue about Israel in the academy. AEN’s specialization in addressing antisemitism in higher education makes them an ideal partner for our institution. We expect that this collaborative work will be a long-term, ongoing process as we work to systematically and institutionally account for and attend to legacies of antisemitic harm at and near Puget Sound.

If you have been negatively impacted by this malicious messaging, please contact Counseling, Health, and Wellness Services (chws@pugetsound.edu) and/or Dave Wright at the Chaplaincy (chaplain@pugetsound.edu) for support.

We all have the responsibility to create a community and culture of inclusion and belonging in which everyone can engage with respect in their educational journey and/or work at the university. I ask that you stay intentional, mindful and vigilant in helping us to advance this culture at Puget Sound.

Sincerely,

Isiaah
Isiaah Crawford, Ph.D. | President