Dear Dr. Linda Bennett,

I do not know if you know the last line of the USI creed, it is “allegiance to these ideals requires that I refrain from and discourage behaviors which threaten the freedom and respect every individual deserves.” I have searched various USI communications for any statement which discourages the atrocities of Charlottesville, VA and yet I have found nothing. This is in deep conflict with the USI creed.

The atrocities of Charlottesville affect every individual at USI, and to not publish any statement; even a statement which directs students to resources available to them is not only a blatant disregard to the individuals of USI but the values USI holds as a community.

We do not know if there are individuals at USI who hold white supremacist views as some of the monsters who organized the “protests” at Charlottesville. If there is even the slightest possibility that one individual at USI might hold those views it is imperative that USI publish a statement that discourages the views of white supremacy, stating clearly that those views are not welcome at USI because they threaten the freedom and respect every individual deserves.

While there may be individuals thinking that the events of Charlottesville do not affect the USI community I would like to point towards a quote from the poem “No Man is an Island.”

“Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind.”

The point of the quote is that when one suffers, we all suffer.