UA Response to Postering Incident

[The Government of the Undergraduate Association]

Dear Undergraduates,

On Monday night, an email chain was widely circulated that accused certain
MIT undergraduates of being responsible for repeated instances of posting
and chalking hate speech throughout campus. One of the accused
undergraduates named in this email chain is a member of UA senior
leadership. This postering occurred first in February, and was repeated
over this past weekend, during CPW. It is incredibly upsetting that any
students on our campus would do such a thing, let alone to find out that
one of the perpetrators may have been a student leader

These actions were not done on behalf of the UA and these posters do not
align with UA values. The UA strives to be a body that serves ALL
undergraduates, represents their concerns, and protects their interests. We
will continue to pursue this mission. The UA is here to help regardless of
your race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender identity, disability, religion,
socioeconomic class, or any other identity. Diversity, equity, and
inclusion are key values of the UA and we will support and protect students
with every tool that we have at our disposal.

The UA Council intends to pursue impeachment proceedings based upon the
actions of a UA member. If you are interested in understanding more about
the process, please refer to the UA Governing Documents (
http://ua.mit.edu/governing-documents)

While this situation frustrates us all, we must remain mindful of how we
treat others. No matter how upsetting their actions may be, harassment,
bullying, or threatening violence are not appropriate ways to express anger
or disappointment towards anyone in our community. We would like to share
that other organizations and groups associated with the postering,
including East Campus, 1E, and the MIT Pre Law Society, have condemned the
use of hate speech and stated that they are not responsible for and do not
condone the messages contained in the posters.

We call on all students to go forward with kindness in this moment when we
all need it the most. We encourage students to check on their peers’
wellbeing, particularly those students who were the target of the hate
speech. We have also listed MIT’s resources for student support at the
bottom of this message, and we encourage students to use them if they are
in need.

We will keep the undergraduate student body informed of any major changes
to the student government leadership in accordance with our bylaws. If you
have any questions, feel free to reach out to ua-response at mit.edu, use the
contact form on our website (http://ua.mit.edu/contactus), or reach out to
your UA Council representative (dorm president or IFC/Panhel/ILG rep.).

With love and support to all our undergraduate community,

The Government of the Undergraduate Association


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Student support resources

●      DoingWell <https://doingwell.mit.edu/support-3/>: Key support
resources for the MIT community.

●      Student Mental Health and Counseling Services
<https://medical.mit.edu/services/mental-health-counseling>: Working with
students to identify, understand and solve problems, and to help transform
that understanding into positive action.

●      Student Support Services <https://studentlife.mit.edu/s3>: An easily
accessible hub of support for undergraduates.

●      GradSupport
<https://oge.mit.edu/student-support-development/gradsupport/> and the Graduate
Assistance Information Network <https://www.mitgain.com/> offer a wide
variety of resources to help grad students and families deal with the
unexpected.

●      Dean on Call <https://studentlife.mit.edu/dean-call-system>:
Students living on campus can dial 100 from campus phones or 617-253-1212
to reach MIT Police, then ask to speak to the dean on call. The dean on
call is available Monday through Friday, 5 p.m.–9 a.m., and on Saturdays,
Sundays and MIT-observed holidays.

●      Office of Religious, Spiritual, and Ethical Life
<https://studentlife.mit.edu/orsel/who-we-are>: Chaplains are available to
offer support and counsel to anyone in the MIT community.
●    IDHR is a team of professionals <https://idhr.mit.edu/> who can assist
all MIT community members with concerns related to discrimination or
discriminatory harassment.
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