Thanksgiving Message from President Brown
November 16, 2018
Dear Friends,
Thanksgiving is just around the corner. With it comes celebration of family, friends, and the blessings we enjoy. Thanksgiving is very much an American holiday, but I believe in all cultures and times humans are moved to collectively pause to celebrate blessings, just as we are moved to mourn the tragedies that seem to be occurring almost weekly. From senseless mass shootings to the destruction caused by the horrific fires in California, we are mindful of the pain and suffering around us.
As we pause for Thanksgiving this year—and I hope most in our community use the opportunity to do so—for many, the observance will be tinged with concern. As is evident from the midterm elections and the abiding rancor in public discourse, our country is divided. And the divisions too closely trace ancient fault lines of race, region, religion, economic condition, and heritage.
The Boston University community includes some 43,000 students, staff, and faculty. It would be inappropriate for me to claim that I speak for all these individuals on the root causes and cures for what ails us. I do believe that there are some core values that we share and about which I can speak for most in our community. I suggest that we cherish the worth of each individual and we seek to maintain an academic community that is open to and supportive of all, irrespective of attributes such as race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
While Boston University’s policies prohibit discrimination based on any of these attributes, I believe that, given today’s political climate, we have a particular obligation to affirm our core values to members of the LGBTQIA* community at Boston University. These members of our community are understandably concerned about potential discrimination resulting from reinterpretation of federal statutes. The New York Times has reported that the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) intends to reinterpret civil rights law in a way that would leave transgender individuals vulnerable to discrimination. This follows the Departments of Education and Justice’s earlier determination that civil rights laws do not protect the right of transgender students to use bathrooms of their choice.
No matter what actions are taken by HHS or the Departments of Education or Justice, we do not intend to weaken Boston University’s policies against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. We will continue to uphold our policies to include the entire Boston University LGBTQIA community.
I would also offer the hope that, as we return from Thanksgiving to continue the great work of an institution dedicated to improving the human condition, we do so renewed in spirit and ever ready to seek the higher ground that defines the inclusive community of Boston University.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and a great conclusion to 2018.
Sincerely,
Robert A. Brown
President
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* Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, and asexual or allied.