[Uosenate] Message about the elections

[Senate President]

Good morning, Senators and Senate Exec Members,

I’d like to share the letter that Senate VP Gildea and I wrote to the campus community about the elections. We think it is important right now for senators to keep in mind our shared academic values and also recognize that the election and related events can impinge on our academic commitments. As we write, it is particularly important for faculty, staff, and OAs to "model for our students and each other the best habits of academia: thoughtful intellectual engagement, compassionate mentorship, and critical reflection on information."

Thank you for reading and sharing this message widely.

- Ell

Elliot Berkman
Senate President
Professor, Department of Psychology & Center for Translational Neuroscience
he/him/his



Dear University of Oregon Community,


We are writing in our roles as faculty members serving as the University Senate President and Vice President. We are writing as individuals and not speaking on behalf of the Senate. But we have spoken with many members of the Senate and believe that the spirit of this message reflects a general feeling among faculty and staff leaders on campus.


The Senate governs academic matters on behalf of the faculty. Strictly speaking, the upcoming elections are not an academic matter, but the elections and the social and political events surrounding them are hugely consequential and the outcome will have a great effect on the lives of the students, faculty, and staff in our community. These are also particularly divisive elections, especially at the national level, and for many, there seems to be no middle ground between victory and disaster. This has led to substantial anxiety for many of us and a feeling that we are not safe. In this context, we acknowledge that there are members of our community who have never felt particularly safe in our current society, and for whom there is no outcome to the elections that will make them feel safe. Nonetheless, the outcome of these elections will affect us all.


We write with messages to both our students and our faculty and staff colleagues.


To our students: vote if you can. We recognize that many of you are deeply affected by these elections. We see you and acknowledge the personal impact that these events have on your lives. We are committed to teaching you and engaging you in academic life regardless of your politics. At the same time, and no matter the outcome of the election, we are committed to creating a safe and inclusive environment for everyone in our classrooms and scholarship.


To our colleagues: vote if you can. We recognize you in the same way we recognize students. And, in addition, we ask that you empathize with the ways these elections affect our students, particularly Black, Indigenous, and Latinx students, students of color, LGBTQIA+ students, students with disabilities, and international students. We encourage you to consider the obligation of our position to lead in this moment and model for our students and each other the best habits of academia: thoughtful intellectual engagement, compassionate mentorship, and critical reflection on information. Many of us have the additional privilege to be able to turn our attention away from the election. We also encourage you to empathize with students and others in our community who do not share that privilege because, by virtue of their identity or skin color or national origin, are unable to safely disengage. Consider ways to accommodate students in your class around the election, for example by avoiding scheduling exams and other major assignments near the election. Have a plan to facilitate thoughtful, constructive discussions that help students process their emotions and concerns. This does not come easily for all of us, so we encourage you to use resources created by TEP<https://blogs.uoregon.edu/keepteaching/2020/10/20/teaching-and-the-election/> and others to create space for the feelings that any outcome of this election is likely to generate.


The mission of our university is to teach our students, generate and disseminate new knowledge, and serve our communities. We should all remember that this mission unites everyone on campus regardless of this election or any other event that would pull us apart.



Elliot Berkman

Professor of Psychology

Senate President

Spike Gildea

Professor of Linguistics
Senate Vice-President
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