Open Letter to Our Undergraduates from the Annenberg School Community

We condemn acts of racism and hate, and express our solidarity with students affected by them.

colorful artwork of various abstract shapes on a wall

TO: Penn Undergraduate Students
FROM: The Annenberg Graduate Student Council & the Annenberg Committee on Diversity

Last week, a number of Penn undergraduates were targeted by messages of hate and racism. We condemn these and similar acts, and express our solidarity with students affected by them. Friday’s events have epitomized some of our deepest fears that this election has mobilized acts of racism, homophobia, transphobia, sexism and other forms of hate. In response, there are a number of commitments we can all make as teachers, researchers, students and staff, and as members of the Annenberg School, Penn, and Philadelphia communities.

As educators, we want to (re)commit to producing classroom environments that are tolerant and inclusive. We are committed to being better listeners, to acknowledging our own privilege, to supporting students of color, and to fostering the critical frameworks necessary to recognize and respond to injustice. We humbly invite our undergraduate students to reach out to us, your Annenberg faculty, teaching fellows and staff, with ideas about how to make our classrooms feel safer and inclusive, from more diversity in our course readings to different approaches to communication and office hours. Our doors are open to you.

As communication scholars, we are contemplating how our research and teaching can speak to and intervene in the current political environment. The internet has been a remarkable tool for bringing people together, connecting across distance, and finding a sense of togetherness. However, online technologies can also be a platform for harassment, division and hate. We see it as our job as researchers to contribute to the design of more equitable and inclusive online platforms and the development of laws, policies, and norms that can respond to web-based violence and prejudice, and hope you will join us in these efforts.

We encourage you to use digital media to connect, speak out, and take action in constructive ways, while also taking steps to safeguard your privacy and wellbeing online. The attached list of resources includes guidance on protecting the security of information you send online as well as coping with online harassment. As members of the broader Philadelphia community, we are actively seeking ways to support and participate in local organizing against prejudice and violence. We hope where possible, you will join us in these efforts as well.

As campus community members, we believe strongly that all students deserve to feel a sense of belonging on campus and to be able to participate in a safe learning environment, but we recognize that for many, this is not always the case. If you feel unsafe, threatened, or unwelcome, we encourage you to reach out to your faculty, your teaching fellows, and Annenberg staff, and to the support systems here on campus. The attached list of resources includes the contact information for Penn support centers. Your instructors and members of the Annenberg staff can also help you navigate campus resources if you are unsure of where to begin.

Lastly, we recognize that there are many different levels of privilege within the Penn community, and for those of us who are less directly affected by racist attacks, it is important to acknowledge our privilege, and to commit to listening rather than assume we have the answers or overstep with our actions. We commit to showing up, to supporting the activism and leadership of students of color, and to learning from you, our students, how we can best advocate for and with you.

List of resources

Resources at Penn for student health and safety:

Online harassment resources:

Resources for documenting incidents of micro and macro aggression:

  • From the Students of Color Speak Out at Penn: Anonymous form for reporting experiences of micro-aggression — https://goo.gl/forms/H6jzJ4luMwRSYS5n1
  • Philly Antifa Tip-Line: Anonymous source for documenting local incidents of violence and aggression — 775-285-6590

Models for discussion forums:

ACLU's "Know Your Rights" link for protesters: