The faculty, staff and students of the Psychology Department at Marquette University join together to condemn the violence committed against and the hatred directed towards Asians, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Although such violence and viciousness are not new, these heinous acts directed towards the AAPI community have been on the rise in the U.S. since the beginning of the pandemic. We express unequivocal and loving support for our fellow students and colleagues who are Asian, Asian American or Pacific Islander.

 

The faculty, staff and students of the Psychology Department pledge to continue our efforts to live up to our mission statement (https://www.marquette.edu/psychology/mission-statement.php). We strive—imperfectly but with good intent—to promote and help build an inclusive environment within our department, on campus, in our neighborhoods, in our nation, and across the world. We rededicate ourselves to efforts to recognize, honor and respect people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds and experiences. We take an affirmative and openly public stance against anti-Asian hate and violence and against all forms of hate and violence directed at Black, Indigenous, Latinx, immigrant, and sexual/gender minority communities. We will work to educate ourselves and others about systemic and structural racism.

 

We encourage everyone to take the time reflect on how they can help to bring justice, compassion and kindness both to those with whom they interact and to all members of our society and, perhaps in particular, to our Marquette Community. 

We encourage those affected to reach out, as needed, to mental health providers on campus and in the community. We hope that those affected see faculty and graduate students in the Psychology Department as a possible resource in that regard.

 

We encourage anyone who witnesses such actions to step forward and speak up (see https://www.ihollaback.org/app/uploads/2016/11/Show-Up_CUPxHollaback.pdf for some suggestions). We strongly encourage both victims of hatred and violence, as well as witnesses of hatred and violence, to file formal reports.

 

The late congressman John Lewis said, “Ours is the struggle of a lifetime, or maybe even many lifetimes, and each one of us in every generation must do our part.” The members of the Psychology Department pledge to strive to do our part to make the world a more just, more equitable, more peaceful, more loving place.

 

The Psychology Department Faculty, Staff and Students

March, 2021.