March 20, 2021
Dear Alumni,
The horrendous events of this past week in Atlanta, Georgia, have highlighted the increasing violence aimed at Asians, Asian Americans, and Pacific-Islanders. To our Asian and Asian American alumni, we are so very sorry that you have to feel this pain, and we share your upset and your anger.
Hate crimes targeting Asians, in particular women and the elderly, have increased significantly in the past year. FBI Director Christopher Wray noted just last month the dangers that we face as a nation from racially motivated extremists, and this week the Anti-Defamation League released a report that notes the near doubling of extremist propaganda targeting Asian, Black, Jewish, Muslim, and LGBTQ+ people. We stand with our Asian and Asian American students, faculty, colleagues, parents, and alumni in decrying not just this incident but also the growing number of anti-Asian incidents that we have seen nationally over the past year.
This is an issue that affects us all, even those of us within our Island community; there is no looking away or ignoring this problem. Such behavior has no place on our campus or in our society, and we are committed to ensuring that our school is a place that welcomes students, faculty, and staff who reflect the wonderful diversity of our world. As members of this extended community, we all have a responsibility and an obligation to speak up and to oppose such violence and hatred. Loomis Chaffee faculty and students continue to work together to make this campus as well as our wider world a place that respects, celebrates, and values difference. Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Elizabeth Parada and her colleagues are working with several groups on campus to support our students and faculty, and the Board of Trustees stays current and addresses such issues through its Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
I know that as alumni you share our commitment to make the school a model of inclusivity and to graduate citizens committed to being their best selves who also serve the common good. We value your engagement and involvement and the myriad connections through which you support our students. You demonstrate daily the ways in which Loomis Chaffee alumni bring about positive change. Thank you for all that you have done, do, and will do for our school.
Ne cede malis,
Sheila
The Loomis Chaffee School • 4 Batchelder Road • Windsor, CT 06095 • 860.687.6000
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