President Message to the Campus Community Regarding Violence in Israel/Gaza

October 10, 2023

Dear Faculty and Staff,

As we return to classes from fall break, we write to share with you the message that Student Affairs sent to all students on Sunday. As you will see from the message, our primary concern is caring for our students at a time when they are processing the horrific news and images of violence coming from Israel and Gaza. We know that this will be a moment of profound anxiety for many of our students—as well as for many of you—and we are also aware that issues regarding Israel and Palestine elicit strong and divided views in our community and worldwide.

Our Student Affairs team is actively communicating with different student groups whom we believe to be most impacted by this conflict, and we will continue to work with those students to meet their needs. In addition to the resources below, all faculty and staff have access to resources in the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Human Resources. We encourage you to reach out if you feel a need for support of any kind.

Sincerely, 

Michael A. Elliott
President

Catherine Epstein
Provost and Dean of the Faculty

Dear Students,

We are reaching out to offer support related to this weekend’s recent and ongoing violence between Hamas and Israeli forces. As of this writing, over a thousand Israelis and Palestinians have lost their lives this weekend, and thousands more have been wounded. Like many of you, we are closely monitoring this unfolding conflict.

We are appalled by and condemn acts of war and terrorism that target civilian loss of life and the taking of civilian hostages. The conflict in Israel/Palestine tends to be tremendously polarizing, leading those with strong views to frame current conflict as originating from or justified by their own impression of that history. Whatever our beliefs, allegiances, and desired outcomes, let us not overlook this very real and significant loss of human lives.

Here on campus, we know that many of you particularly—our Jewish, Muslim, and Middle Eastern and North African affiliated students—have close family, friends, religious, and cultural ties to that region and its people. We know some of you may already be greatly impacted by events of the past two days, while others of you may more so be bracing in anticipation of local and social media reaction of various forms.

For every student who may be experiencing difficulty in your own way, we are here for you, and want to hear from you. We care about how you’re doing and what you need, and understand that support can look very different for each person. In addition to the resources shared below, please know that the two of us, and the wider Student Affairs team, are here to listen, to see you, and to hold space. We’re holding you in our hearts.

Finally, across the many different views, opinions, and convictions related to Israel/Palestine, we encourage you to stay human, to resist oversimplifying and vilifying those who may seem and feel to be “other” or at fault. It can be tempting to project the other as a monolith, and to lash out at any who hold possible affiliation. Our community needs to be better than that — and our community is better than that. Last spring, at a CHI salon, we heard from a Palestinian and an Israeli working together with the Roots organization in Israel, two individuals with intergenerational and opposing ideologies about the region who also understood the necessity of not allowing pain, grief, and anger to erode one’s own humanity — and the ability to see the humanity of others.

The Amherst community has a long history of negotiating challenging moments of conflict, and we will work to support one another through this one. Please take care of yourselves, and please take care of those around you. We’re here for you.

Warmly,

Angie Tissi-Gassoway
Chief Student Affairs Officer & Dean of Students

Harrison Blum
Director of Religious and Spiritual Life

CAMPUS RESOURCES

Center for Religious and Spiritual Life (RSL)
RSL director Harrison Blum (hblum@amherst.edu) and staff chaplains are available for confidential one-on-one spiritual counseling and welcome the opportunity to be of support if you are in crisis. You don’t need to be religious or even know what you plan to speak about. Harrison specializes in mindfulness, has co-led grief groups, and has worked in end-of-life and psychiatric chaplaincy settings.

Center for Counseling and Mental Health (CCMH)
CCMH has supported many students dealing with various types of loss and grief. You can email or call them to make an appointment (counsctr@amherst.edu, 413-542-2354). 

Class Deans
Your Class Dean can assist you to correspond with your faculty and advocate for whatever flexibility they can offer in terms of attendance and assignments at this time.

Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ODEI)
ODEI works collaboratively to support and sustain the growth of a just, equitable, vibrant, and intellectually challenging educational environment. Their Center for Restorative Practices offers tools for and facilitation of difficult conversations. ODEI also houses the Civil Rights and Title IX Office. The College encourages community members who believe they have experienced forms of identity-based harm at the College to report it. Anyone can submit a report.

Office of Identity and Cultural Resources (OICR)
Often loss and grief can be directly impacted by our identities, lived experiences, and the marginalization of our communities. The OICR directors are available to offer support and honor the complexities of loss and grief that you might be experiencing. Each OICR Center offers office hours with the directors and various other ways to stay connected. OICR centers, in addition to RSL, consist of the Center for International Student Engagement, Class and Access Resource Center, Multicultural Resource Center, Queer Resource Center, and Women’s and Gender Center.

Residential Engagement and Wellbeing
The Residential Engagement and Wellbeing Staff, including your Community Development Coordinator (CDC) and Community Advisor (CA), welcome an opportunity to check in with you and refer you/actively support you with reaching out to these other resources.