April 7, 2015

Dear Students,

Don’t turn away from the horror. Don’t let yourself become numbed by the almost daily atrocities perpetrated against innocent lives. Allow yourself to be outraged, and turn that outrage into your own personal commitment to be a force for good in the world.

Most recently, the massacre of nearly 150 students at Garissa University College in Kenya by terrorists brought home the terrible juxtaposition of death at what should be the living heart of every community: a place dedicated to knowledge and understanding and to affirming the very sacredness of humankind.

You are here to learn by listening to the maddening noise and filtering out what matters. Beyond the warring ideologies, the messages of hatred, and the evil of bigotry, people matter…we all matter.

At the U, we transform lives through teaching, research and service

Never forget those Kenyan students and all those who are ravaged by the senseless and heartless acts of others. Remember and resolve to be someone who cares, who serves others, and who learns.