McMaster appeals for tolerance in the face of U.S. racial tensions
McMaster University will not tolerate acts of discrimination, intimidation or hatred, said president Patrick Deane in a message to students in response to rising racial tension in the United States.
“It is clear from recent violent and shocking events that universities cannot be immune from the currents of global conflict, nor from incidents of hatred, bigotry and intolerance,” said Deane in a written letter to students posted Thursday.
He was referring to white nationalist rallies in the United States particularly in Charlottesville, Va., where civil rights activist Heather Heyer was killed when a car drove into a crowd on Aug. 12.
With increasing acts of racism in the U.S., Deane appealed for tolerance and respect in Hamilton.
“Whomever you are, and whatever your race, ethnicity, religion, age, gender identity or sexual orientation, there is a place for you here and I am proud to welcome you as a McMaster student.”
While McMaster will continue to encourage a diverse range of opinion and respectful debate, it will not come at the cost of allowing hate.
Deane assured support is available to students concerned about discrimination.
“We are deeply committed to building an inclusive community in which all members feel safe and empowered, valued and respected for their contributions, and in which diversity is actively promoted and celebrated,” he said.
As students prepare to return to school in the coming weeks, Deane also posted a video about why diversity is vital to the university.
“This is a place that prizes diversity and inclusivity and cannot function where there is intolerance, judgementalism and any kind of hostility on any grounds of race and creed and gender,” he said in the video.
“In order to be a great university, this place has to nurture that community that is inclusive, sustaining and respectful.”
Deane says he believes McMaster is an “unusually welcoming community.”
“Research, higher education and the kind of sophisticated intellectual work that gets done at a place like McMaster requires an atmosphere of inclusiveness, tolerance, acceptance, understanding and mutual respect.”