‘Hate has no place here’: A letter from President Michael Molla

Dear Campus Community,

I’m writing to firmly restate our values as a College: Hate has no place here.

A number of our neighboring colleges have been experiencing hate speech through social media, particularly centered around a reemerged sharing platform that is a haven known for cyberbullying, bigotry, harassment, and trolling on college campuses. Today, some social media platforms can be anonymous, which makes it challenging to hold those responsible and accountable who share such terrible and hateful messages. As we understand from our neighboring colleges, it appears that toxic posts may not even be generated by campus community members but by outside individuals or organizations looking to create chaos and plant the seeds of hate within a college community. Please use your best critical thinking and discerning skills and do not assume all posts are coming from members from our community.

The pursuit of creativity calls us to use our talents to combat injustice and not to spread hatred. The pursuit of creativity calls us to use our talents to create community and not to create division. The pursuit of creativity calls us to support the freedom to speak and not to oppress.  PCA&D stands with its students, faculty, and staff as well as our community partners from all backgrounds, and will not tolerate hate speech or harassment of any kind promoted by such toxic platforms.

As a small community, respectful listening and speaking are essential to learning. Pennsylvania College of Art & Design affirms its commitment to civil discourse and the open exchange of knowledge, ideas, and experiences. It is our collective responsibility to cultivate multiple viewpoints and experiences through the exchange of knowledge, ideas, and experiences that value all community members. It is vital that we reaffirm our commitment to integrity and equity for all members of our community.

Remember that our community expectations and campus code of conduct include language or behaviors that occur online, via email, or by other electronic means. If you notice behaviors that are antithetical to our community values, please share with a faculty member or a staff member and find the appropriate venue to have a conversation. Reports of discrimination and/or harassment should be directed to the Vice President of Student Affairs & Community Engagement at deanofstudents@pcad.edu or the Director of Human Resources at hr@pcad.edu

Thank you for all you do to create our thoughtful, respectful, and engaged community.

Kind regards,

Mike