As I think about the current situation, I wonder if the students that Chancellor Martin is deriding and threatening will have the same reflection at their reunion weekends. Then I think, with the experience they are having, would they even come?

As we learn to advocate for our clients and communities, to further social justice, and to challenge institutional and systemic oppression, we find the Brown School’s silence on the genocide in Palestine fundamentally hypocritical and thoroughly in opposition to our institutional values.

To be “pro-Palestine,” one does not have to justify the horrific acts of terror that were committed on Oct. 7. To be “pro-Palestine,” one need not be anti-Israel. And being anti-Israel doesn’t make one effectively pro-Palestine.

“The WUIMC has a fiduciary responsibility to make decisions that are financially, ethically, and legally dubious (to put it nicely). The WUIMC will only seek to profit from the violation of basic human rights and dignity when the Chancellor deems it ‘socially responsible’ to do so.”

But it appears even with positive reviews and evaluations from students, strong teaching-track faculty can be let go without any clear rhyme or reason. We call on the University to extend a new contract to Dr. R and all other well-deserving TRaP faculty who are foundational to the excellent education that Washington University provides.

Native students like us deserve to be here. We deserve Native and Indigenous professors to teach and mentor us. We deserve a department to study critical Native Studies topics. We deserve a space to learn and grow and gather. We are here, we are WashU, and we deserve to be seen.

Instead of acknowledging WashU’s continued inaction on its students’ desires, Martin makes no meaningful distinction between the protesters’ political goals and the environment that enabled the egging incident.

In an environment where discussions about justice are as pressing and urgent as ever, activists fighting for their causes need to invite as many people into the conversation as possible. Doing so should involve convincing people why they should care, not admonishing them for their complacency.

The only substantive effect this resolution might have is intimidating and alienating Jewish students on our campus, and it is this effect that we can and must resist.

If we truly want to enact change and promote social justice, we must learn to listen to one another with respect and understanding.