On the Chauvin Verdict and Anti-Black Racism

Dear GS students,

As President Bollinger wrote late yesterday, while the guilty verdicts on all charges for Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd were a step in the right direction, there is still enormous work to do in our country for all of us to address systemic racism and violence towards Black people. And it goes without saying that there is no true justice for George Floyd’s family, who lost their loved one, father, brother, and son.

As I write to you today, I recognize how difficult watching the trial and jury deliberation has been for members of our Columbia GS community, as we think back to the horrific and heinous murder we all witnessed on video nearly a year ago and particularly after a heart-wrenching year of continued racial injustice and a pandemic that had disparate impacts on communities of color. While you process this verdict, please remember that we have Columbia resources (described below) that are always available to you.

As we near the end of the semester, I hope that we can all be there for one another—to provide support, healing, inspiration, and action. We can honor the memory of George Floyd by committing ourselves as change agents to working toward eliminating anti-Black racism and holding ourselves accountable to being a just, inclusive, and equitable society.

With care,

Lisa Rosen-Metsch
Dean

Associate Dean of Student Affairs and Wellbeing, Amber Griffiths
Dean Griffiths is available to offer support and guidance through the Dean of Students Office at GS.

Counseling and Psychological Services (CPS)
CPS provides 24/7 phone support available through on-call service, which is accessed by calling (212) 854-2878 and following the recorded directions.

Center for Religious Life
The Earl Hall Center for Religious Life may be reached for spiritual counseling at (646) 906-5913 (Monday–Friday, 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. ET and by appointment after hours and during the weekends). For those on campus, Earl Hall and Saint Paul’s Chapel are open from 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, for prayer and reflection.

Live Well | Learn Well
wellbeing.columbia.edu

Office of University Life
universitylife.columbia.edu