Over the past several days, GW leadership has engaged with many stakeholders across the university community and hosted a second meeting with student representatives from Arab, Muslim and Palestinian student organizations on May 13. University leaders welcomed the opportunity to hear directly from the students about their concerns, and made clear this was part of a process of listening to perspectives from the broad spectrum of university community members—including other students, faculty, staff, alumni, and families—on GW’s path forward. University officials also stated that as this broader process gets underway, there will be additional follow up with the student groups involved in this week’s meetings as well as the full array of other groups impacted by recent events.
As leadership shared in January, the Strengthening Our Community in Challenging Times plan outlines three areas of focus centered on productive dialogue, partnership and support, and policies and procedures. This plan was envisioned as a starting point for addressing important community concerns, and in the wake of the recent protests, these focus areas remain essential to community healing and will continue to evolve. Important conversations around free expression and efforts to support our community members began this semester, but much work remains. And in the coming weeks, our community discussions will also include providing more clarity regarding university investments and finances, addressing concerns of Islamophobia and antisemitism at GW, and leveraging our collective expertise to inform and support humanitarian relief efforts in Gaza and around the world.
We look forward to continued discussions with our diverse community, and we will share additional updates and opportunities for engagement this summer.