NADOHE Condemns the Senseless Mass Shootings at El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio

CONTACT: Debra S. Nolan, CAE 
Phone: 800-793-7025, Email: [email protected] 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
August 5, 2019-Fort Lauderdale, FL-NADOHE condemns the senseless mass shootings at El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio. These were ordinary families and people living their lives and now their lives have been extinguished. 

As the academic year begins, we are witnessing a rise in the level of rhetoric that fuels hate-filled acts. We are witnessing with increasing vitriol racist words that have led to racist acts. 

We call on our members to be vigilant and condemn these acts both formally through our work as diversity professionals and personally. We also must act--whether that includes demanding legislation that keeps innocent children and families safe through responsible gun control, to demanding resolution of the crisis at the border and to treating those who seek refuge in this country humanely. Human rights must be upheld and we must stop the rhetoric of fear, hate and division and find solutions. 

In the immediate aftermath of these two horrific events, we need to meet with our students and campus community to help them grieve and make sense of these tragedies and help them heal. We must also be prepared to continue our work to make our campuses a place where all can live, learn, and work together.

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate only love can do that." Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

NADOHE serves as the preeminent voice for diversity officers in higher education. Its vision is to lead higher education towards inclusive excellence through institutional transformation. For more information about NADOHE, please visit www.nadohe.org.