It is clear that the past few weeks have brought a great deal of controversy and division to our community.  While many issues have divided us, I believe there is much that we can unite around.

Every student here at SLU has some familiarity with the Oath of Inclusion, but how many of us really take a hard look at what it says? A few lines of our Oath really stood out to me in light of the events both on and off campus in the last few weeks.

I will challenge my worldview through education inside and outside the classroom.

I will foster a community that welcomes all by recognizing the inherent dignity of each person.

I will work for social justice in the Saint Louis community and beyond.

Recent events have definitely challenged us as a community.  Our collective worldview has grown beyond our immediate community.  Events in our city continue to serve as an opportunity for us as SLU students to realize that the realities of personal and structural racism are not happening in a world separate from ours.  The SLU bubble was finally burst as we woke up to the reality that our sisters and brothers live with on a daily basis in Ferguson and beyond.  As we move forward we must continue to ask ourselves if we are living up to our Oath. “Do I recognize the inherent dignity of each person that I encounter?”  “What do I do to work for social justice in the Saint Louis community and beyond?”

Our community has filled me with immense hope in our engagement of the challenging reality of our day.  I am filled with hope as I reflect on my fellow student’s’ desire to learn and commune with those most involved in the struggle.  I am filled with hope as I look to our University leadership’s support of dialogue and engagement of our community.  I am filled with hope at seeing the momentum on this campus finally turn to hear and respond to the voice of the oppressed.

Even with so much hope, I must confess that this past week has filled me with heartbreak.  Returning from fall break to see the momentum of solidarity slowing left me speechless.  Finally, our campus was engaging with our community and taking strides towards solidarity, but after a few days away; many students felt that it was time to get back to “real life”.  My friends, the OccupySLU movement was just a glimpse into what real life looks like.  The greatest injustice we could do to our community, and ourselves, is to move on as if this movement never happened.    This cannot, and must not, be the end of our shared struggle for justice in our city.  This is not the end…this is only the beginning.

In light of this new beginning, we must continue to challenge each other and ourselves.  All across our University there are efforts to maintain the momentum that began a few weeks ago.  I urge you to resist the temptation to fall back into the old routine.  We must continue to educate ourselves, and reach beyond our comfort zones.  If the current reality is ever to change, we must take a personal stake in the issue.  Let’s show this city that we are St. Louis’ University; fully committed to the development and success of all of the people of our city.  This commitment cannot be based in words, but in actions.  We each have a personal responsibility to walk with and serve our community.  Attend dialogues, seek answers to important questions, and engage in intentional service.  Whatever your next step is, please take it and make it a priority.

United together, let’s say goodbye to the SLU bubble.  Today, we are awake.  Today, we are aware.  Today, we begin a new era of Saint Louis University, where we hold the banner of our mission high and proud.  We are called to be men and women for and with others. Let’s rise to the challenge.

“This is the SLU I believe in. This is the Community I am building. This is our SLU.”