On Wednesday, President Joseph Helble sent an email to the campus community addressing recent racist incidents.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Office of Student Involvement hosted a town hall last week with Greek life and the broader student body to share perspectives. Helble said he\u2019s committed to taking action to make Lehigh a place where everyone feels they belong.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs president, I unequivocally condemn racism and intolerance at Lehigh, and I am committing to taking steps to make Lehigh a place where everyone truly belongs,\u201d he said in the email.<\/p>\n
He said in response to the incidents, he\u2019s created a \u201cworking group\u201d of university leaders, led by Katherine Lavinder, vice president of student affairs, to develop actions to prevent racism on campus.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The group also includes Provost Nathan Urban, Donald Outing, vice president of equity and community, Henry Odi, deputy vice president of equity, and General Council Matt Lahey.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The email stated the group will focus on developing a clearer articulation of accountability, responsibility and consequences, as well as reviewing and improving education, orientation and training to reinforce racism has no place at Lehigh.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Helble said these efforts, along with the adoption of the Chicago Principles<\/a> \u2014 a free speech policy created by the University of Chicago and adopted by more than 100 universities \u2014 will help foster a respectful dialogue on campus.\u00a0<\/p>\n