Dear Penn State community,
On Monday, we as a University community were poised to celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. along with his legacy, and to reflect on the progress made toward a more equitable and just society, and what more must be done.
I am deeply saddened to share with you that this commemoration was marred by a hate-filled email that was received by a couple of hundred members of our community. While I know it is human nature to inquire about the specifics of incidents, I will not share the contents of the email nor the name (real or false) of the purported sender — as I refuse to give credence to this individual’s repulsive note or provide a larger platform for the false and offensive narrative that was written. I renounce all the content in this racist, hate-filled email, and it deserves no public airing.
However, I and other leaders at Penn State refuse to ignore the intended purpose of the email — which was clearly motivated by hate and meant to hurt, intimidate, denigrate and harm members of our community. Instead, we will use this opportunity to continue to work for peace, justice, equity and inclusion in our community and beyond. We reiterate in the strongest terms that we stand united in affirming the dignity and worth of people of all racial backgrounds, ethnic origins, genders, sexual orientations, religions and abilities.
We must meet racism and divisive words with not only our own words of support, but efforts to counteract these deeply troublesome and ignorant incidents. Please know we have asked our IT unit to look into the origin of this externally sent email — understanding that masking of IP addresses and location of the sender is technically possible.
To those who were recipients of this offensive email, we are profoundly saddened that you have been the target of this hurtful experience. Penn State leaders are allies in the fight to abolish hate and we remain focused on building an inclusive and diverse community, although, as I stated earlier this week, we acknowledge we still have many challenges to overcome. We are reaching out to those we know have been recipients of this abhorrent email, but if anyone in our community requires assistance or counseling, please know we are here to support you, and you should not hesitate to contact the Office of Educational Equity at 814-865-5906.
Despite this incident, which unfortunately created an ugly stain on a day that was meant to remind us all of our ongoing journey toward equity, acceptance and love, I have great faith in human goodness and the power of our community to stand against hate and intolerance.
As Dr. King stated, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” For those recipients of hate-filled messages, you are not alone. And we will continue to speak out and work together to address evil and work toward goodness — knowing that all of our freedoms are inextricably bound together.
Sincerely,
Eric J. Barron
President, Penn State