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President Belton’s Statement on Insurgence at the Capitol
President Belton’s Statement on Insurgence at the Capitol
What I saw at the Capitol this week was no surprise. There are no words to describe how sickening it was to witness this attack on our democracy, it was shocking, but it wasn’t a surprise. To put it plainly, we have deeply rooted systems in this country that collectively excuse and perpetuate violence—specifically racist violence—and we need to take meaningful action to address these systems at their source.
One way that we strive to do this work every day at PLU is by helping to ensure that all students have access to a purposeful, transformative education.
PLU’s mission—to educate students for lives of thoughtful inquiry, service, leadership, and care, for others, for their communities, and for the earth—is hardwired in Lutheran higher education’s core belief that study in the liberal arts is a liberating experience, freeing the learner from ignorance and a life focused on the self alone.
PLU calls upon our students and alumni to live in community and to engage this world—a world too marked by ignorance, need, and injustice—to serve the shared good with their distinctive gifts and skills.
Whether it is this last week, the last four years, or the last 400 years, the countless violent and unjust events throughout every year of our nation’s history make it clear—we need more thoughtful inquiry, more thoughtful service, more thoughtful leadership, and more thoughtful care.
This summer, we renewed our commitment to being a university that does not shy away from difficult conversations about white supremacy and inequity; to re-evaluate our climate, policies, curriculum; and to create a more authentic, inclusive, and actively anti-racist learning and working environment. We continue to move forward with this work. (See the Seven Actions for Institutional Equity and Anti-racism at PLU.)
What I saw in Washington, D.C., and Olympia this week only strengthens my resolve. Our PLU culture and our values call us to be resolute and steadfast in our mission and commitment to our students and community.
Allan Belton
President