Statement on the election of Donald Trump from faculty and staff at Stony Brook University

Dear Students, Faculty, Staff, Alumni and Community Members,

At Stony Brook University, we are actively committed to protecting and supporting populations now targeted by the incoming federal administration. We refuse to remain neutral in the face of bigotry, violence, hate speech, and harassment faced by any student or community member. We celebrate the vibrant diversity of the state of New York: African-Americans, Latinos/as, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, Indigenous people, people of color, LGBTQI communities, Muslims and other religious minorities, immigrants, undocumented students, disabled people and women. We pledge to defend the most vulnerable among us, to advocate for communities targeted by hate, and to foster a campus environment that affirms inclusion, social justice, and human rights. We also acknowledge that some of the most vulnerable among us — including undocumented immigrants — were also targeted and left behind by the outgoing federal administration. As educators, we understand that our nation has been systematically shaped by white supremacy, patriarchy, capitalist exploitation, heterosexism, transphobia, ableism, and colonial violence against indigenous communities and other minorities from its inception. But the dangers of this historical moment are palpable. And so we recognize that it is our civic responsibility to stand against the violent attacks taking place against minorities across our country and on our campus.

We must condemn in the strongest possible terms President-elect Donald Trump’s appointment of Stephen Bannon, an advocate for white nationalists, as his chief strategist. We will not stand by silently as the president-elect surrounds himself with those who openly embrace racism, sexism, homophobia, and religious hatred. We reject white nationalism, Islamophobia, misogyny, and anti-semitism. We have lived through and repudiate tactics of fear mongering and state repression in the name of national security. Inspired by the legacies of resistance of activists, writers and artists who fiercely dreamed and worked for a better future for all, we affirm Stony Brook University’s role as a public institution of higher learning. In the coming months, we will work to protect academic freedom. We will defend the campus community’s right to protest, resist and speak out against injustices. Finally, we will condemn the use of violence and intimidation by the police and the military to suppress such forms of dissent.

We join with other college and university campuses in affirming the values of diversity, compassion and human dignity. Educational communities can use the hashtag #ConcernedAcademics to share similar statements and spread awareness.

Signed,

Crystal Fleming, Sociology and Africana Studies

Joseph M. Pierce, Hispanic Languages and Literature

Jeffrey Santa Ana, English

Nerissa Balce, Asian & Asian American Studies

Tiffany Joseph, Sociology

Jean Boucher, Technology and Society

Oyeronke Oyweumi, Sociology

Abena Ampofoa Asare, Africana Studies

Nancy Hiemstra, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Adrienne Unger, Program Coordinator, Humanities Institute at Stony Brook

Adam Safer, Sociology

Kathleen M. Fallon, Sociology

Cliff Leek, Sociology

Çağlar Çetin-Ayşe, Sociology

Kathleen Wilson, History/HISB

Theresa Tiso, Women’s Gender Sexuality Studies

Deniz Ilhan, Sociology

Andrew Newman, English

Cathy Marone, Sociology

Aida Nikou, Sociology

Robert T. Chase, History

Lisa Diedrich, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Victoria Hesford, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Fernanda Page Poma, Sociology

Lynda Perdomo-Ayala, Pharmacological Sciences

Sienna Thorgusen, Sociology

Susan Hinely, History

Rebekah Burroway, Sociology

Eric Zolov, History

Barbara Frank, Art

Michele H. Bogart, Art History, Art

Nobuho Nagasawa, Art

Liz Coston, Sociology

Shobana Shankar, History

Brooke Larson, History

Norman Goodman, Sociology

Kadji Amin, Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Karen Levitov, Director, Paul W. Zuccaire Gallery, Staller Center

David Mather, Art History, Department of Art

Jacob Gaboury, Art History, Department of Art

Zabet Patterson, Art History, Department of Art

Helen A. Harrison, Art / Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center

Jennifer Anderson, History

Gianmarco Savio, Sociology

Shirley Jennifer Lim, History

Karen Lloyd, Art History, Art

Lorena Salcedo-Watson, Art

Gary Marker, History

Jen Heerwig, Sociology

Aurélie Vialette, Hispanic Languages and Literature

Javier Uriarte, Hispanic Languages and Literature

Tatiana Rzhevsky, Hispanic Languages and Literature

Lena Burgos-Lafuente, Hispanic Languages and Literature

Timothy August, Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature

Alix Cooper, History

Celia Marshik, English

Michael Schwartz, Distinguished Teaching Professor, Emeritus

Katarina Norte, Stony Brook University Hospital, Nursing- PONC

Elena Davidiak, Hispanic Languages and Literature

Lou Charnon-Deutsch, Hispanic Languages and Literature, Emeritus

Victoriano Roncero-López, Hispanic Languages and Literature

Cynara Matos, Biology

Jamie Puglin, Sociology

Dale Deutsch, Biochemistry and Cell Biology