To the Editor:
In light of recent events, we as student-athletes at Cornell have an obligation to address the appalling behaviors that have occurred on our campus. Last Thursday night, a young black student was verbally and allegedly physically assaulted by a former member of the Cornell athletic community. As the voice of student-athletes at Cornell, we want to make it clear that this man’s actions do not represent the values and culture of Cornell Athletics. We are deeply troubled by this event, and this student’s conduct is unacceptable. Although we are all individual representatives of the athletic community, we want to make it clear that the biases and actions exhibited by this student do not accurately portray the beliefs of all student-athletes.
We are not naïve enough to believe that every athlete holds completely inclusive and unprejudiced beliefs, however, it is our obligation to condemn the marginalization of any minority student. The opportunity to be a student-athlete here at Cornell is a privilege and one that we do not take lightly. As leaders on this campus, we are committed to creating a safe and healthy environment in which every individual, regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual identity or gender feels respected. We are devoted to holding our teammates and ourselves accountable for both our speech and actions on and off the field, and beyond our campus.
Even if you feel distant from the problem, in situations like this, it is not acceptable to be a bystander. The time to speak up and act is now. We encourage all varsity captains and leaders of other organizations to use this as an opportunity to start a conversation within their groups. Racism, sexism, bigotry and any other form of prejudices are unacceptable from any individual, especially those in athletics who are supposed to represent our University with dignity and respect. We all have goals of exceeding expectations in the classroom, winning championships, and excelling in our respective sports, but our goals need to extend past the classroom, court and field. At times like this we must expand our goals and work to be appropriate leaders and representatives of Cornell University.
We call upon the entire athletic community to work as a cohesive unit towards a unified goal of creating an overall campus environment where every individual feels accepted. It is a part of the University’s mission statement regarding diversity that we, “don’t just accommodate differences, but engage with them; And provide rich opportunities for learning from those differences.” As leaders on this campus we need to challenge each other and ourselves to uphold these standards, and strive to construct a more accepting atmosphere in our community.
We will continue to represent Cornell with the utmost pride, and we are honored to be able to wear its letters across our chest each day.
Tori Togashi ’18
co-president of Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, softball
Morgan Chall ’19
co-president of Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, gymnastics