Message to the Campus

Holocaust Remembrance Day: Remember and Resolve

From: President Claudia Schrader
Sunday, January 27, 2023

Dear College Community, 

Today I light a candle to remember the over 6 million Jews who were victims of the Holocaust.  I light a candle to both remind me that it was only 78 years ago when Nazi concentration camps were liberated and to remind me that true liberation cannot exist until we eradicate anti-Semitism, rise above intolerance, and stand up against hate. 

Today we have all been asked to light a candle, but what happens tomorrow?  All too often we pause to remember these critical times in our history, but the real work is centered on what we do today (the present) and tomorrow (the future).   The real work lies in how we treat our Jewish brothers and sisters and each other.  The real work lies in standing up against hate in all its forms.    And the real work lies in building bridges of understanding. 

Our light alone and what we do as individuals make a difference.  But it is our combined light, our unified voice and collective action as a community not just against hate, but for love; not just against intolerance, but for understanding;  and not just against ignorance, but for education—is what makes the impact. 

As we light our candles today, let us do so not only to remember the past, but resolve to act to make a better present and future.