Note: This letter originally appeared as an email sent to the Hopkins undergraduate community on September 4, 2021.
Dear Students:
We write to reiterate the university’s commitment to investigating and addressing hate incidents following the troubling message from Johns Hopkins Public Safety about an incident off campus targeting two students of Asian descent. We take all such incidents seriously, but we know that this one is particularly alarming given the recent rise in anti-Asian discrimination and violence.
We have offered our support to the individuals who were directly affected, and we want to take this occasion to restate our opposition to hateful or discriminatory language or acts of any kind. As President Daniels and Provost Kumar wrote in March, we understand the growing pain and fear felt among our own Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) community at Johns Hopkins and their families during the last year. Amid this reprehensible increase in hate and violence, we reaffirm our unwavering support for our APIDA students, faculty, and staff.
The embrace of diversity is a defining feature of Johns Hopkins, and one that is crucial in fulfilling our commitment to excellence in education, discovery, and service. It is critical to our success as an institution and to the individual success of us all. As we have been compelled to say far too many times in recent days, we will not tolerate harassment, violence, or discrimination in any form on our campuses or against any members of our community.
While we may not write to the community after every such incident, we felt it was important to do so as we welcome new students to the Johns Hopkins family, so that we can convey how seriously we take these events and to make sure everyone is aware of the resources available for those affected or concerned by them. We will ensure there are opportunities to come together as a community to discuss these unfortunate incidents and to support each other in the weeks ahead.
If you are a victim of any such situation, you are strongly encouraged to file a complaint through official university channels. More information about filing a complaint is available on the Office of Institutional Equity website. Incidents can also be reported using the Speak2Us hotline or you can contact Public Safety at 410-516-7777.
Support specifically for APIDA students is available on the student well-being website.
We all must join together to build an inclusive, welcoming, and open community, and we ask for your help in ensuring that everyone feels safe and supported at Johns Hopkins.
Sincerely,
Kevin Shollenberger
Vice Provost for Student Health & Well-Being
Interim Vice Provost for Student Affairs
Katrina Caldwell
Chief Diversity Officer
Shanon Shumpert
Vice Provost for Institutional Equity