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Statement by UMass President Marty Meehan regarding racist incidents at UMass Amherst

The blatantly racist e-mails recently sent to Black student organizations at UMass Amherst and other deplorable acts of anti-Black hatred are appalling and disgusting. While UMass Amherst is still trying to identify the source of these messages, we do know that the messages in no way reflect the true character of the UMass community and we have zero tolerance for such behavior. We are reminded, however, that we all have an obligation to confront the racism that continues to infect our society.

I commend Chancellor Subbaswamy and his leadership team for candidly and proactively sounding the alarm about this vicious, hurtful assault on our Black students. As the campus aggressively pursues the source of these vile messages, we must all join in active support of our students, and re-double our commitment to providing a safe, welcoming community for all students. We must treat any such attack on one group as an attack on all that we stand for as a university.

My team in the Office of the President is working with UMass Amherst to investigate and to identify the individuals and/or organizations responsible for these hate-ridden messages, and hold them accountable wherever they are.