[This message was sent to Weitzman students, faculty, and staff on Friday, December 8, 2023 at 4:26pm.]
Dear Weitzman Community,
The events of the past few months have been wrenching for many members of our community. Many of us are grappling with intense and sometimes conflicted emotions as we witness painful statements about members of our community, friends, family, and others with whom we identify. We are angered and saddened by the rise of antisemitism across the country.
I want to make the Weitzman School’s position clear: antisemitism, racism, islamophobia, and other forms of hate have no place in our school. None. Calls for genocide violate our behavioral standards and must be unequivocally condemned as we remain vigilant in preventing and responding to hate in all forms. Hateful actions based on race, religion, gender, sexual preference, identity, or nationality must be rooted out and eliminated on our campus.
Despite our commitment to combatting hate in all its forms, we recognize that Penn is not immune to incidents of intolerance, antisemitism, and islamaphobia. We will investigate and provide concrete responses to reports of any such incidents. Although this work is confidential, please know that we are unwavering in our commitment to responding quickly and forcefully. If you have a concern about anything you have witnessed or experienced, please do not hesitate to reach out to Kayla Richards, director of student services (kayr@design.upenn.edu), or Karl Wellman, senior director of operations and planning (kwellman@design.upenn.edu).
The leadership team at Weitzman is working tirelessly to ensure that every member of our community feels safe, supported, and included. Our goal is to make sure that everyone at Weitzman feels that they belong. I hope you will join me in fighting injustice, upholding the School’s values, and ensuring that the Weitzman School is a safe space for everyone.
With gratitude for the Weitzman community,
Fritz Steiner
(he/him)
Dean and Paley Professor
Co-Executive Director, The Ian L. McHarg Center: Urbanism + Ecology
