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Dear Members of the Northwestern Pritzker Law Community,

We are deeply committed to working together to build a community that is welcoming and inclusive to everyone. In order to build this community together, we must not only unequivocally condemn all forms of hate, but also create an environment in which we can see each other’s humanity.  

Doing so is especially important at this time. Incidents of hate against Jews, Muslims, and Palestinians are on the rise. Many members of our community have experienced loss and are hurting and on a daily basis, fear for their safety and that of their loved ones. In the past several days, we have seen behavior at our Law School that does not support the welcoming and inclusive community that we strive to create. 

We need to collaborate to create a community that supports and welcomes everyone. As we protect freedom of expression and academic freedom and respect that people may disagree deeply in their views, we need to treat every member of our community with respect and consider the impact of our words and actions on others. To do so, we must avoid expressing ourselves in ways that convey hate, denigrating others in person, on social media, and on email, and doxing. 

Members of our community can report concerns about bias or hate to the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance and about safety to our Behavioral Consultation (Threat Assessment) Team via the Wildcats Aware form. They also may consult directly with NUPD on safety planning at (312) 503-3456. Our team will continue to meet with students directly regarding their individual concerns and work closely with the University on issues that arise. 

As a law school, one constructive role that we can play is developing educational programming that will help increase understanding and combat hate. To this end, I have created a working group comprised of members of the Law School’s Senior Leadership Team that will do so grounded in listening to students, faculty, staff, and alumni and in collaboration with our University. We will provide more information on the working group and outreach to hear your ideas in January, which will be part of our continuing efforts to: (1) identify and support impacted members of our community; (2) develop short-term and longer-term concrete steps; and (3) work to ensure a welcoming and inclusive environment for every member of our community. 

As our classes come to a close and we move into exams, we wish everyone a few restful days and all the best in their studying. We are here to be supportive to anyone needing assistance, and we look forward to building a more welcoming and inclusive community together.

Warmly,
Hari Osofsky

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