Statement on the George Floyd Incident

29 May 2020
By President Steven Poskanzer, St. Olaf President David Anderson

Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff,

As neighbors and as a community, we come together with a united message about the terrible and heartbreaking events that are traumatizing our state. Like many of you, we too are experiencing pain and anger, and together express our hope that we can stand together in our shared grief, anguish, and frustration.

This week, we witnessed another atrocious act of violence against a person of color in the police officer-involved killing of George Floyd. Our hearts go out to Mr. Floyd’s family and to the many others whose lives he touched. This incident in Minneapolis raises profound and troubling questions about police brutality, violence in our society, and institutionalized racism — issues that are critical for us to explore, teach about, research, study, discuss as a community, and address in our individual lives.   

We are always working to improve equity and inclusion on our two campuses and throughout our shared community, but this moment once again makes it clear that there is still so much more work to do.

Our strength is defined by how we treat and nurture each other. We are committed to making our community one that supports healing, advocates for meaningful action, and moves forward for a better future together.

Steven G. Poskanzer
President, Carleton College

David R. Anderson
President, St. Olaf College

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