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[GREETING],
My name is [YOUR NAME] and I’m currently a [YEAR YEAR] here at DePaul. I am also the [POSITION] for the [ORGANIZATION] for the [INSERT YEAR]. I am reaching out because, alongside many DePaul community members and student organizations, I demand a proper response to our concern over DePaul’s partnership with the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) and the Chicago Police Department (CPD). I demand that DePaul University respect the Black and Brown students here on campus, and that is not possible if this partnership with the FOP Lodge 7 continues.
Many Black and Brown students on campus feel unsafe having CPD officers affiliated directly with DePaul, whether that is actively serving or being enrolled in courses. As a University claiming to deeply value social justice, it should be in your best interest to make all students feel welcomed and comfortable on campus. In our Lincoln Park Student Center, the statue of Monsignor John Egan is proudly erected: a man who fought segregation in Chicago, marched with MLK in Selma, and was known and applauded for his work in social justice. How is it that on this same campus, Black and Brown students do not feel comfortable or cared for?
Even in Chicago, CPD officers are not truly responding to the protests the right way. If they are truly serving and protecting our city, they wouldn’t hit protestors with rubber bullets or lock them in the city with no way out. Using a CPD officer to defend interim provost Ghanem’s response, which was delivered so quietly that many students were unaware of it, is a slap in the face to the many students here on DePaul’s campus. You cannot continue to boast the teaching and ideas of St. Vincent De Paul and ask what must be done without doing anything fruitful for your students. Cops do not belong in schools.
We will not stand and watch as you fail your students over and over. If you truly want the answer to “what must be done,” listen to your Black and Brown students. We are telling you that we are hurting as a community and telling you how to rectify this. We demand change now.
Sincerely,
[SIGNATURE]
Recipients:
Very Rev. Raymond Van Dorpe, CM
Trustee, DePaul University
Provincial Superior, Western Province of the Congregation of the Mission
Lori L. Holland
Chair, Board of Trustees
Dr. A. Gabriel Esteban, PhD
President, DePaul University
Dr. Salma Ghanem, PhD
Interim Provost, DePaul University
Dr. Kathryn Stieber
Secretary of the University
Vice President, General Counsel, DePaul University
Chad Jordahl
Assistant Vice President & Assistant University Secretary, DePaul University
Peter Coffey
Associate Vice President, Community and Government Relations
Rev. Guillermo Campuzano, CM
Vice President, Mission and Ministry
Dr. Elizabeth F. Ortiz, Ed.D.
Vice President, Institutional Diversity and Equity
Dr. Gene Zdziarski, Ph.D.
Vice President, Student Affairs
Jeffrey J. Bethke
Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, DePaul University
Dr. Scott Paeth, Ph.D.
President, Faculty Council
Erin Berkowitz
President, Staff Council
Dr. Donald L. Opitz, PhD
Interim Dean, School of Continuing and Professional Studies
Jennifer L. Rosato Perea, JD
Dean, College of Law
Dr. Paul Zionts, PhD
Dean, College of Education
Leslie Triplett-Bracy
DePaul University Staff Council
Cyndee Newman
Assistant Director, Office of Undergraduate Admissions
Huilan Jin Jackson
Assistant Director, Office of Undergraduate Admissions
Stephanie Wood
Assistant Director, Office of Graduate Admissions
Dr. Soumitra Ghosh, PhD
Vice President, Enrollment Management
James Stewart, MEd
Director, Adult, Veteran, and Commuter Student Affairs
CCed:
Gisselle Cervantes
President, Student Government Association
Marissa Nelson
Editor-in-Chief, 14 East Magazine
Shane René
Editor-in-Chief, The DePaulia
Colin McMahon
Editor-in-Chief, Chicago Tribune
Chris Fusco
Editor-in-Chief, Chicago Sun-Times
Jim Kirk
Publisher & Executive Editor, Crain’s Chicago Business