Dear members of the CU Boulder community,

It is with great sadness that we have occasion, so soon after the mass shootings in Orlando, to mourn the tragic loss of more lives in Baton Rouge, St. Paul, and Dallas, as well as those lives lost to terror in Istanbul and Baghdad. These deaths have effects that ripple far beyond the local communities of lost loved ones. We send our condolences to the victims and their families, to communities of color, and particularly to black men and their families that have been disproportionately impacted by these deaths.

The university offers a community where we can come together to mourn and support each other. The university also has a particular mission to help create better understanding of the complexities and histories of prejudice and mass violence, and to work together to forge a more united, kind, and just society.

I hope that you are doing whatever you need to do to take care of yourselves during this difficult time, and I encourage you to access the many resources available to you on campus.

On Tuesday, July 12, 2016 there will be two university community conversations about these recent events, noon to 1 p.m. and 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the UMC Aspen Rooms. We invite you to share the impacts this violence has had on your communities, discuss how we can support each other across our differences, and reflect on how to stop the escalation of violence in this country.

 

Sincerely,

Philip P. DiStefano
Chancellor
University of Colorado Boulder