viewpoint
Family first: Taking a staND for all
Letter to the Editor | Monday, August 27, 2018
Recently, a fellow student published a column with statistics on DACA students and Dreamers. As student government leaders, we felt that it was imperative to contribute to this conversation.
As a Catholic Institution, Notre Dame has an obligation to stand for the dignity of all people. Reducing a group of students on our campus down to statistics is not the road to building a welcoming and inclusive family. As our University’s Spirit of Inclusion Statement reads:
“We welcome all people, regardless of color, gender, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, social or economic class and nationality, precisely because of Christ’s calling to treat others as we desire to be treated. We must consciously work to create an environment of mutual respect, hospitality and warmth in which none are strangers and all may flourish.”
We absolutely respect everyone’s right to free speech, and strongly encourage students to discuss and debate the issues of the day. However, doing so in a reductive and incendiary fashion alienates members of our community and hinders productive conversation. We are all Notre Dame students, and we must act like it. As University President John Jenkins has said, “either we are all Notre Dame or none of us are.”
For our First Year and Transfer students who just completed their first week of classes, know that our community does not endorse language that dehumanizes anyone, especially not Notre Dame students. For members of our Notre Dame community that are DACA students and Dreamers, know that we stand with you and for you — as we do for every student on campus. It is our responsibility to leave Notre Dame better than we found it, and building a welcoming and inclusive environment is essential in our work to make Notre Dame a true force for good.
In Notre Dame,
Gates McGavick
student body president, senior
Corey Gayheart
student body vice president, senior
Briana Tucker
chief of staff, senior
Aaron Benavides
director of faith & service, sophomore
Caroline Cloonan
director of academic affairs, senior
Claire Marie Kuhn,
co-director of dtudent affairs, senior
Clark Bowden
co-director of FUEL, sophomore
Dylan Jaskowski
executive controller, senior
Eduardo Luna
co-director of student life, junior
Elizabeth Boyle
director of gender relations, junior
Fritz Schemel
director of community engagement & outreach, sophomore
Grace Dean
director of health & wellness, sophomore
Isabel Edgar
student union secretary, sophomore
James Deitsch
director of social concerns, senior
Katherine Wallace
director of athletics, junior
Maria Palazzolo
director of university affairs, senior
Mita Rami
director of diversity and inclusion, junior
Peter Seidner
co-director of communications, senior
Rachel Ingal
co-director of FUEL, sophomore
Thomas Krill
campus technology & amp; innovation, senior
Vivian Nweze
co-director of communications, senior
Aug. 26
The views expressed in this Letter to the Editor are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.