I’m sure everyone in this country is aware of what has been happening several miles down the road in Ferguson over the past few weeks. The shooting of Michael Brown and subsequent clashes between protesters and police have dominated national news headlines for most of this month. However, for most Washington University students—and especially incoming freshmen—the first familiar voice they heard talk about the incident was Chancellor Mark Wrighton, in an email to the University sent on Aug. 13 (four days after Brown’s shooting).

And while the chancellor did follow up with a second email eight days later outlining a series of campus events and programs responding to the tragedy, many characterized his first email as callous or insensitive. Many students were understandably upset that an event that had personally affected them and shaken the foundations of the St. Louis community received only a 226-word response from the most powerful man at the most famous university in the city.

Social media then began to circulate an argument that seems to pop up every time a major tragedy or conflict affects our community—that Wash. U. wasn’t doing enough to address the situation. Students were asking how Wash. U. could simply be “troubled” by such a momentous event. I believe that when our University community faces challenges in the future, there is one very important distinction we need to remember:

Chancellor Wrighton is not Washington University.

The chancellor may be the man running our school, but he should not be the defining voice of our community as a whole. He is just one man with the job of advocating for this university, a job that he does extremely well. Wash. U., and really any university, is not a monolithic structure that speaks with one administrative voice. The administration may run the school, but the University community is defined by the students, faculty, staff and alumni, who make it what it is. We are the lifeblood of this University, and we need to remember that fact when our University responds to challenges. Saying things like “I wish Wash. U. would do something about this,” or “I wish Chancellor Wrighton would act on this” creates a discursive distance between ourselves and the problems we face. This distance allows us to avoid responsibility for what’s going on in our University and our city by simply complaining that the “powers that be” in the administration aren’t doing anything about it.

This past Monday, I experienced one of the most inspirational things I have ever seen in my time at Wash. U.: hundreds of students gathered at Brookings to march around campus in solidarity with Mike Brown and the thousands of other victims of racial profiling and police brutality. And it was not just students in the crowd—I saw everyone from faculty to deans to Residential Life and Student Conduct administrators. All of us were marching together with the same goal in mind. Perhaps most strikingly, when we passed by the Knight Center, a group of catering staff came to the windows and raised their arms in the “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” posture to show support for the march.

In that moment, the University was not being defined by official statements or administrative emails. Washington University was being defined by a group of passionate students and staff who decided they were going to speak out. Every one of us who steps foot on this campus—from wide-eyed freshmen to cynical seniors to faculty to administrators to the hard-working staff who prepare our food and clean our dorms—is just as much a part of this community as the chancellor. No matter what backgrounds we come from, we are in an inherent state of privilege as members of one of the most incredible intellectual communities in the nation. When we establish our higher administration as the definitive voice of that community, we shun both the ability and responsibility we have to speak out on important issues.

On Monday, we spoke loudly and confidently as members of the St. Louis community to show our support for Mike Brown. Next time such an issue confronts us, we must remember that Chancellor Wrighton is not Washington University. We are all Washington University, and with that knowledge, we cannot afford to keep silent on issues that matter.