College of Medicine

2/15/2017

Dear all:

President Trump’s Executive Order restricting entry into the United States for individuals originating from certain Muslim-majority countries has created great concern and confusion for students, faculty, staff, and many others across the United States. It has sparked thousands of protests, and has already been met with lawsuits by the ACLU, several State Attorneys General, and others. Many academic and professional societies and individuals have opposed this executive order, as have civic and religious organizations and for-profit corporations.

Joining this chorus of opposition, all of us on the Council on Diversity and Inclusion (CODI) at the College of Medicine strongly oppose the President’s Executive Order as discriminatory, unfairly targeting a large number of persons from Muslim-majority countries.

We recognize and name the Islamophobia and xenophobia becoming more prominent in our society. As private individuals we must respond to this in our own ways; however, in our professional roles, all of us on CODI stand opposed to unjust discrimination, including Islamophobia and xenophobia, as it affects anyone in our community or the functioning of our College.

To our Muslim students, faculty, and staff, and to anyone who has been made to feel targeted, threatened, or unsafe by this Executive Order or the rhetoric surrounding it: Know that we stand with you unequivocally.

To our Dreamers, other undocumented persons, and anyone else with concerns or uncertainties regarding immigration status, again, know that we stand with you unequivocally.

We have compiled a list of resources to assist those who have questions or concerns regarding immigration or discrimination below. These will shortly be available on CODI’s website as well, along with additional related resources including ways to help. We intend to keep this a dynamic and useful resource, so we request that anyone with suggestions for additional resources please share them with any of us on CODI, and we will post them on our webpage.

We acknowledge and thank President Thrasher for his strong stance in support of students with DACA status (Dreamers), and his support of all members of the FSU community affected by the executive order on immigration.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to any of us on CODI if there is any way that we can assist you, including finding additional resources; or, if you just need a friendly ear.

Sincerely,

The Council on Diversity and Inclusion