Student Executive Committee Urges Action Against Police Brutality and Systemic Racism

May 31, 2020
Dear friend,Dwight Hall’s Student Executive Committee (ExComm) is devastated and outraged by the recent killings of Black people in this country. George Floyd should be alive today. Breonna Taylor should be alive today. Ahmaud Arbery should be alive today. Countless victims of racist and anti-Black violence should be alive today. We hope that they all rest in peace, and we pray for their loved ones. 

No amount of grief can bring back those innocent lives, and nothing will change unless WE ALL fight for change. As such, ExComm stands in solidarity with protesters in Minneapolis and nationwide that actively confront an unacceptable status quo. There can be no peace until the four police officers – Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane, Tou Thao, and J Alexander Kueng – are arrested and charged for the murder of George Floyd, and there’s accountability for all acts of police brutality.

Injustice has plagued this country since its inception. Systemic racism devastates lives every day, as evidenced by disproportionate rates of incarceration and COVID-19 deaths in Black communities. Dwight Hall is committed to opposing systemic racism, and its violent outputs, in all of its forms. 

As Dr. Cornel West recently asked, “Can you imagine this kind of lynching taking place and people are indifferent, people don’t care, people are callous?” There’s strength in numbers and your voice is needed to foster a better society. Never be indifferent to hate.

Below, you will find some ways to take action.

Yours in service,

Dwight Hall Student Executive Committee
Caroline Yang for the New York Times
Joshua Rashaad McFadden for the New York Times

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How to Help Demand Justice for George Floyd (The Cut)

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FOLLOW: Black Lives Matter New Haven (Facebook)

FOLLOW: Black Students for Disarmament at Yale (Facebook)

Photo Credits: Caroline Yang and Joshua Rashaad McFadden for the New York Times

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About the Author

Lydia Burleson

Lydia Burleson served as the Communications and Alumni Engagement Associate for Dwight Hall at Yale, Center for Public Service and Social Justice from June 2021-June 2022. A first-generation low-income student from rural Texas, Lydia graduated from Yale cum laude in 2021 with a degree in English and a nonfiction creative writing concentration. During her college years, Lydia increased awareness of marginalized voices with the public writing she did for The Yale Daily News and the Yale Admissions office. Her Dwight Hall experiences included free college advising with student-led member groups REACH and Matriculate. Dwight Hall empowered Lydia to uplift other disadvantaged students and to increase access to education for people who might not have otherwise received these resources. She is currently completing an English PhD at Stanford University with a Knight-Hennessy Fellowship.