9/20/2024

Dear Campus Community,

As many of you recall, following the cancellation of the Susan Resneck Pierce Lecture in February 2024 due to a student-led protest that created a material disruption (the Pierce Lecture incident), Davis Wright Tremaine (DWT) conducted a thorough investigation into the events and identified the need to review university policies on speech and protests, opportunities for improving campus safety and communication regarding events, and educational opportunities for our campus community.

We are committed to learning from the Pierce Lecture incident and related events around the country so that we can continue to foster a safe, inclusive environment for constructive dialogue and education. As I promised you in my April 16, 2024 campus message, we have carefully considered DWT’s recommendations and have taken significant steps to address the issues raised. I also want to acknowledge that DWT identified some members of the campus community who may have violated university policies in the course of the Pierce Lecture incident, and, while I am limited in what I can share about specific students, staff, and faculty, I want to affirm that we reviewed the conduct of each of those individuals using our established campus processes, and implemented the restorative and corrective action we believe is appropriate, including offering restorative justice processes and opportunities for those involved in the incidents.

With the fall semester now underway, I write to provide an update on the work that has occurred since my last message related to DWT’s recommendations and to highlight opportunities for continuing education and training to enhance our ability to engage in constructive dialogue, as well as reiterate our expectations for all faculty, staff, and students to conduct themselves in a manner that upholds our university's values.

POLICY REVIEW AND REVISIONS
DWT evaluated our policies, statements, codes, and procedures related to campus protests, demonstrations, and postings, including protections and parameters for speech and expression. Their work led to a recognition that we may need a more visible and accessible pathway to our standards for assemblies, protests, and demonstrations. Currently, guidance for assemblies, protests, and demonstrations and postings can primarily be found in our Statement on Academic Freedom and Exercise of Free Speech, our Student Integrity Code, our Wheelock Student Center Policies & Procedures, and our Security Services procedures, which are not necessarily intuitive locations for our faculty, staff, and students to look for these important topics.

Rather than making changes to our existing documents, we have developed and the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees has approved two new university-wide administrative policies that incorporate DWT’s expertise and feedback to expand upon the language in the existing documents, which helps give clarity to our campus community about our practices, standards, and expectations and avoid ambiguity regarding assemblies, protests, demonstrations, and postings.

As such, the new Policy on Assemblies, Protests and Demonstrations expands upon the language we currently have in the Statement on Academic Freedom and the Exercise of Free Speech and the Student Integrity Code to provide fuller detail on coverage, definitions, peaceable assembly and free expression on campus (including more information on time, place, and manner; engaging in peaceable assemblies; and university oversight), and consequences of violations. We will also provide additional guidance to help members of the campus community understand more about holding assemblies, protests, and demonstrations on campus and expectations for such events.

Similarly, the new Posting Policy is designed to be university-wide, with the exception of policies specific to residence halls and university housing. In addition, individual divisions, departments, and programs may implement more specific policies applicable to their location(s). The Posting Policy expands upon the language we currently have in the Statement on Academic Freedom and Exercise of Free Speech and Wheelock Student Center Policies & Procedures to provide fuller detail on coverage, definitions, requirements, and restrictions for print publicity (i.e., general rules and expectations; required information to include; and prohibitions), posting expectations, locations, and restrictions, sidewalk chalking, and consequences of violations.

As these new policies were developed over the summer to be implemented with the start of the fall semester, we will continue to talk with faculty, staff, and students and anticipate that further conversation with key stakeholders on campus may inform additional updates to these policies or related policies, standards, and codes that could be brought to the Board of Trustees for their consideration.

CAMPUS SAFETY AND COMMUNICATION ON EVENTS
Starting in the spring, we have undertaken the work to implement recommendations from DWT’s report to improve safety training, event planning, and communication practices. Actions we have taken include:

  • We added Alertus to our campus emergency community system to allow us to broadcast audio alerts on our Emergency Blue Light Phones.  We continue to work on the second phase of implementation, which will concurrently issue desktop alerts on university-owned computers in the event of any campus emergency. Please expect additional testing of the desktop alert system in the near future as we continue to make sure it is integrating with our existing emergency notification programs.
  • We are in the process of updating our access control system to assure we can quickly secure individual buildings or the full campus depending on the nature of the emergency.
  • We have developed a number of template alert notifications to allow us to efficiently send out more informative Logger Alerts to the campus community in the event of various emergencies.
  • In July 2024, a number of staff across multiple divisions attended the Pierce County Safety Summit. We continue to work closely with Pierce County Emergency Management to build mutually beneficial partnerships.
  • Just this week, we completed our annual lockdown drill to help all campus community members practice emergency responses. We will continue to regularly offer this training opportunity for all faculty, staff, and students, along with a spring evacuation exercise, to assure that our campus community is familiar with how to respond in certain emergencies.
  • This fall, members of the university’s Emergency Response Group and others will complete FEMA training on emergency response.

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE CAMPUS COMMUNITY

Engaging in Restorative Practices
Following the Pierce Lecture incident, we immediately offered and continued to provide support to those individuals and groups impacted by the events. In addition, we have been training individuals on restorative practices which we are implementing more broadly as a means of healing and reconciliation.

To best work through the harm that some members of our campus experienced in the spring, healing circles, a type of restorative practice, are being developed with a local organization.  The healing circles will begin later this semester and continue through the spring. The goals of the circles are twofold: to understand harm in our community as it relates to the February Pierce Lecture incident, and to begin modeling new ways of working through conflict.

Other Related Training and Programming
Already this year we have participated in trainings and programming initiatives to foster a more inclusive and understanding campus community. These recent events and upcoming workshops and events focus on democratic citizenship and building skills in constructive dialogue and bystander intervention, such as:

  • During Passages, the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity (OIED) facilitated a 3-hour workshop on dialogue skills focused on constructive engagement across differences.
  • The OIED has also provided training to Student Affairs staff and student leaders on these dialogue skills and also on intervention strategies to address microaggressions.
  • The university’s Title IX Coordinator/Equal Opportunity Officer has conducted training on the new Policy Prohibiting Discrimination, Harassment, and/or Sexual Misconduct and its associated procedure.
  • The Associated Students of the University of Puget Sound (ASUPS), in collaboration with Student Involvement & Programs and the Politics & Government Department, hosted a debate watch party on September 10.
  • Last weekend we partnered with Associated Ministries and OneAmerica to host an educational session on reducing toxic polarization in communities.
    In honor of Constitution Day and National Voter Registration Day, Student Involvement & Programs organized a screening of "Suppressed: The Fight to Vote" followed by a discussion.
  • We are engaging Essential Partners to provide facilitation training for faculty, staff and students to become facilitators of Reflective Structured Dialogue in settings across campus. Once facilitators are trained we will offer a series of community dialogues on diverse topics across differences in which members of the campus community can participate.

In addition to all that I have mentioned, I know that our dedicated and talented faculty continue to share their expertise with our campus community regarding important and complex issues facing us here and abroad. I am grateful for our collective efforts to educate and prepare us for an ever-changing world.

More information will be forthcoming on scheduled and future programs.

OUR COMMITMENT TO AN INCLUSIVE COMMUNITY
We would like to reiterate our commitment to pluralism and inclusivity, particularly as we see unrest in the world, divisiveness in our country, and as we near the one-year anniversary of the war in Gaza. We believe that cultivating a diverse and welcoming environment is essential for academic excellence and creating a campus environment where all members feel valued, respected, and supported.

To this end, I will soon appoint a Presidential Advisory Committee on Spiritual and Religious Practices and Identities. This committee, which will be composed of faculty, staff, and students from across the university, will advise me on campus climate issues related to spiritual and religious practices and identities and concurrently work to facilitate more targeted support of our faith and spiritual practitioners on the Puget Sound campus.

I ask that we continue to show care, understanding, and kindness to one another, especially as we move through the upcoming election cycle. By upholding our commitment to respectful dialogue and civil discourse, we can create a campus environment that is both inclusive and inspiring.

Thank you all for your continued support and engagement.

Sincerely,

Isiaah Crawford, Ph.D. | President