The following is a joint statement from President Daniele Struppa and Dean of the Wallace All Faiths Chapel Gail Stearns sent to the Chapman University community on Wednesday, Jan. 6.
Like all of you, we are watching in disbelief as the violence unfolds at the United States Capitol. We are hearing conservative and progressive voices alike condemning this attack on our democracy. Make no mistake, we also condemn these actions as domestic terrorism.
The elections have been held, the results have been challenged and the courts have spoken on those challenges. It is now time for our country to come together and to face the many difficulties ahead, in a way that does not pit us against each other.
While we may not always see eye to eye on the specific policies, we can all agree that morality and peace matter. Our survival as a democracy is intertwined with our commitment to treating all humans with dignity and holding all of us to the same moral and legal standards. We pray with you and commit to the long road ahead of preserving our democracy and ensuring the peaceful transition of power. Let this be a beginning for us to work together for peace.
What has made this country a beacon for so many immigrants around the world is the sense that there is a peaceful way to resolve differences, and that those differences are proof of vibrancy, not of discord. And yet, the news we’re seeing out of Washington D.C. now imperils these ideas, and I hope you will all use your voice to urge restraint and the respect for our democracy.
Join us this evening at 7:00 for TAKING CARE OF COMMUNITY: IN A TIME OF CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS for a brief vigil. https://chapman.zoom.us/j/92077869268
If you are unable to join us, we invite you to join with members of the Chapman community and light a candle or take a moment of silence wherever you are.
