Vincent Boudreau
Dear Members of the City College Community,
As many of you know, the ASRC building, located on our south campus, was vandalized during Monday's early morning hours. This building is a CUNY Grad Center building, and I have enclosed the message that the Grad Center President, Josh Brumberg, wrote to his campus community following that defacement. Nevertheless, the building also exists within the broader envelope of the CCNY campus, and we share responsibility for its protection, and the protection of the academic and research activities that take place within its walls.
In sharing President Brumberg's words, I would like to echo his approbation at the vandalism. Like him, I would like to express my support for free speech as a general principle, but say that acts of defacement and vandalism clearly cross the line of what is permissible on a college campus, and will be subject to the disciplinary processes of this campus and the criminal justice system.
We have a duty to protect the well-being of our entire campus community and to preserve an environment where everyone has unfettered access to campus resources in a non-discriminatory environment.
With President Brumberg, I denounce these acts as counter to those obligations, and urge our community to focus on the preservation of a more inclusive environment on campus, free of Antisemitism and discrimination of all kinds.
Sincerely,
Vince Boudreau
President
Dear Graduate Center community,
Hate has no place at the Graduate Center. Unfortunately, vandals broke windows and defaced the entryway of the Advanced Science Research Center (ASRC) early this morning. We are currently working with CCNY campus safety and the New York Police Department to investigate this hideous act.
While we will clean up the graffiti and repair the windows, the impact of this act will linger. Our buildings at 365 5th Avenue and 85 St. Nicholas Terrace are designed to be the homes of scholars investigating unknowns and expanding our knowledge of how humans interact with each other and with nature. Insensitive acts of vandalism seek to disrupt our work and make us feel unsettled in our surroundings; we must not let this happen. After the initial investigation wrapped up this morning, we reopened the ASRC at noon.
Should you feel uncomfortable in any way, feel free to reach out to ASRC and Graduate Center leadership or public safety at either CCNY (212-650-7777) or the Graduate Center (212-817-7777). Additionally, I would like to remind our community of resources that are in place to assist all members. Students, if something troubles you on campus, please reach out to the appropriate offices, including the Wellness Center, Office of Student Affairs, Office of Educational Opportunity and Diversity, and Office of Compliance and Diversity. Staff, please reach out to Human Resources or the Office of Compliance and Diversity; and faculty, the Provost’s Office or the Office of Compliance and Diversity.
I will be holding my senior staff meeting in the ASRC executive conference room tomorrow morning as further evidence that we will not let ill-intentioned vandals impact the important work we are all engaged in.
CUNY has strict policies in place to protect all our community members and expects all community members to exercise their right to express themselves responsibly and respectfully.
Sincerely,
Joshua C. Brumberg
President