Dear Tepper School faculty, staff, and students,
Recently, our nation has seen an increase in hate crimes perpetrated against the Pan-Asian communities across the globe. While these despicable acts are not new, COVID-19 has fueled incidents of harassment and violence on members of this community. These horrible acts, big or small, are incomprehensible and unacceptable. I am heartbroken and outraged by these events, and I know our Tepper School community shares my concern for those who are impacted by these hateful acts.
I want to restate our commitment to fostering diversity and making our school a place where all people – regardless of background or identity – feel safe and represented. We must not stand idly by when these types of crimes are perpetrated. All of us need to become active participants in building a better society for all. We must act to eliminate these injustices and help to protect everyone in our community. Discrimination of any kind has no room in our society and should never be tolerated.
Our campus thrives on diversity. It is our responsibility to build character as well as business leaders; to strengthen and amplify communication across all cultural, religious, racial divides. I encourage you to check in with your peers and colleagues and to be dedicated allies to one another.
We have resources available to you that provide guidance on how to make a positive impact. Carnegie Mellon’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CaPS) are committed to combating racism and providing self-care resources for coping with racism. Contact them to support your peers who may have been victimized and for assistance with understanding how to support your classmates who may have been through trauma. Remember to report hate crimes or other incidents to campus police and through the central CMU incident reporting system.
With respect to all of our community,
Isabelle Bajeux
Tepper School Dean
