Statement from Vice Chancellor Hill on recent violence

Posted by jamalha on Friday, July 8, 2016 in News and Events.

This week we were saddened, yet again, by the deaths of two more black men at the hands of law enforcement, and this morning by reports of five police officers killed in Dallas. As President Obama has noted in his public statements, “We’ve seen such tragedies far too many times, and our hearts go out to the families and communities who’ve suffered such a painful loss.” Of the Dallas deaths, the President declared it a “vicious, calculated and despicable attack” and said “there’s no possible justification for these kinds of attacks, or any violence against law enforcement.”

Loss of life under such circumstances is always tragic. We must recognize the impact of such violence on students, faculty and staff in our Vanderbilt community. We all have a continuing responsibility to identify ways that can impact change. We need to work together to increase our awareness, create solutions, and engage in a dialogue for greater understanding. We emphasize our plans and commitment to provide continued leadership to address this need.

The frustration, the anger and the grief are real and warrant our dedicated efforts to affirm and protect the dignity of all human life. We need to step back, reflect and ask: what can we at Vanderbilt and in our nation do to make communication, respect, understanding, dialogue and inclusion stronger? For all of us, working on answers together will be important and must be a priority during the months ahead.