A Personal Message from President Koppell

Like so many of you, I find myself reeling in the face of the horrific events unfolding in Israel and Gaza. We live in an age where the ubiquity of video and communications technology renders the abstraction of violence impossible. So while the number of killed, wounded, displaced and abducted is shocking, the ghastly images make clear that the victims are not statistics. They are hauntingly real human beings. Their fear, their pain and their despair are visceral and impossible for me to forget. Terrorist attacks on civilians can and should be condemned without equivocation or reference to context.

At the same time, I feel sorrow for the suffering of innocents gravely harmed by retaliatory strikes and years of deprivation. Their loss and pain are real. Acknowledging it does not invalidate or undermine our condemnation of Hamas’ savagery.

So what does all this mean for us at Montclair State University? I know many people in our community have personal and spiritual connections to the region. We want all to know that we have resources available for those needing support during this difficult time. Students should refer to our Counseling and Psychological Services and faculty and staff should refer to our Employee Assistance Program. We are also supportive of groups on campus that are trying to be there for their communities, and I have been proud to see the positive fashion in which they’ve done so. I hope they maintain this approach to model humane, empathic action. Sadly, although we are not aware of any specific threats against members of our community, we have to be vigilant and prepared for all possibilities.

This moment reminds me that disengagement from the world represents an abdication of responsibility on an individual and collective level. Tragedy continues to unfold in Nagorno-Karabakh and Afghanistan, war continues in Ukraine and Sudan, recovery is slow in Libya and Morocco and, of course, there is more hardship that we risk minimizing by citing only these. In the face of this litany of suffering, I hope we do not lose our humanity or forget our agency: our power to be there for each other — those who are threatened right here or feel grief at the agony of others — and to contribute to solutions to seemingly intractable problems.

Let’s resolve to resist evil, to fight for justice and to relentlessly pursue peace. That requires not just action but education, not just advocacy but empathy. I know our Montclair State University community is up to the challenge, and I look forward to working together for a better tomorrow.