Preamble:
Some weeks ago, a small group of faculty got together to draft a statement urging all of us at Bellarmine to represent our highest ideals as a university by avoiding the inflammatory and inaccurate language that is in the air in reference to Muslims in the wake of the Paris attacks.
Although this particular statement was written to address a specific context, its authors hope it will be part of an ongoing larger effort to live up to Bellarmine’s mission, which calls for us to embrace people of all “faiths, ages, nations, and cultures,” and to honor “each individual’s intrinsic value and dignity.” Others were then invited to add their names to the statement. The original statement was revised to be more precise and to take into account the events in San Bernardino and President Obama’s remarks. This statement is not intended to represent the views of the university as a whole, its administration, or its faculty in general.
The statement:
In recent months, crimes perpetrated by the terrorist group ISIS have led to a great deal of sadness, anger, frustration, and increasing fear. We, the undersigned Bellarmine faculty, acknowledge that the terror spawned by an extremist and radical version of Islam poses a grave challenge to the security of our nation. At the same time, an unfortunate consequence of these events has been a tendency toward inaccurate generalizations that confuse or conflate the overwhelming majority of peaceful Muslims and innocent refugees with extremists. We unequivocally reject this confusion and pledge our support to peaceful Muslims and innocent refugees, including those who are part of our community. We urge all members of the Bellarmine community to uphold the university’s ideals of open and civil discussion and to act with respect towards other members of the community.
Dr. Michael Ackerman
Dr. Muzaffar Ali
Dr. Shawn Apostel
Dr. Seth Appelbaum
Dr. Jennifer Barker
Dr. Kyle Barnett
Dr. Brian Barnes
Dr. Dan Bauer
Mr. David Becker
Dr. William Becker
Dr. Tom Bennett
Prof. Amy Birk
Dr. Jon Blandford
Rev. Dean Bucalos
Dr. Katherine Bulinski
Prof. Richard Burchard
Dr. Fedja Buric
Prof. Megan Burnett
Dr. John T. Byrd
Dr. Andrew Carnes
Dr. Pam Cartor
Prof. Patricia P. Carver
Dr. Daniel Castner
Dr. Roberta Challener
Dr. Megan Church-Nally
Dr. Hoon Choi
Dave Clark
Dr. Robert Collier
Dr. David Collins
Dr. Robert B. Cooter
Prof. Renee Culver
Dr. Megan Danzl
Dr. Sue Davis
Dr. Elizabeth Dinkins
Mr. Richard Dworin
Ms. Regina Eberenz
Dr. Beth Ennis
Dr. Joseph Flipper
Mr. Robert Foshee
Dr. Chelsey Franz
Dr. Roy Fuller
Dr. Jay Gatrell
Dr. Don Giles
Dr. Joshua Golding
Dr. Timothy Glasscock
Dr. Daniel Golemboski
Dr. Karen Golemboski
Mr. Ira Grupper
Dr. Brad Gubser
Dr. Kathy Hager
Prof. Laura Hartford
Dr. Charles Hatten
Dr. Carrie Hawkins
Mr. Jud Hendrix
Dr. Gail Henson
Dr. Gregory Hillis
Dr. Elizabeth Hinson-Hasty
Dr. James F. Holladay, Jr.
Dr. Pat Holt
Dr. Kerri Horine
Prof. Jessica Hume
Dr. Frank Hutchins
Dr. Barbara Jackson
Dr. Joy Jacobs-Lawson
Dr. Marylee James
Dr. Ann Jirkovsky
Dr. Katherine Johnson
Mr. Mark Kaelin
Dr. Christy Kane
Dr. Courtney Keim
Mr. Zain Khandwala
Alice Kimble
Dr. Robert Kingsolver
Dr. Paul Kiser
Dr. Justin Klassen
Dr. Amanda Krzysiak
Prof. Barbara Lee
Dr. Tony Lentz
Dr. Sara Mahoney
Mr. Edgardo N. Mansilla
Dr. Martha Carlson Mazur
Rev. Isaac McDaniel
Dr. Christy McGee
Prof. Margaret Meloy
Ms. Angela Miller
Dr. Donna Morton
Prof. Sarah Neal
Dr. Moira O’Keeffe
Prof. David Orberson
Dr. Don Osborne
Dr. Conor Picken
Dr. Mary Pike
Prof. Robert Pfaadt
Dr. David Porta
Dr. Annette Harris Powell
Dr. Deborah Prince
Dr. Gail Ramirez-Icaza
Dr. Anne Raymond
Dr. Belinda Richardson
Dr. Keith Richardson
Dr. Miguel Rincon
Dr. David Robinson
Dr. Zackary Ross
Mr. John W. Russ
Ms. Britt Schloemer
Mr. John Schuler
Ms. Amanda Seaton
Ms. Stacie Shain
Ms. Julia Senn-Reeves
Ms. Jessica Sharpenstein
Dr. Stacy Shipman
Prof. Frederick Smock
Dr. Evanthia Speliotis
Ms. Paula Blank Spugnardi
Dr. Bradley Stevenson
Dr. Melanie-Préjean Sullivan
Dr. Catherine Sutton
Dr. Amy Tudor
Prof. Meme Tunnell
Dr. Ruth Wagoner
Dr. Kristen Wallitsch
Prof. Gabri Warren
Dr. Timothy Welliver
Dr. Kathryn West
Dr. Paul D. Wightman
Dr. Matisa Wilbon
Dr. Lee Williams
Dr. Lisa Willner
Dr. Steven Wilt
Dr. Thomas Wójcicki
Dr. Christy Wolfe
Dr. Nancy York
Dr. Daylene Zielinski