Unsanctioned Partisan Political Activity

Oct. 26, 2020

Friends,

Over the last 24 hours, a number of our Andrews University community members have reached out to ask us about a political parade, of sorts, that made its way through our University campus yesterday.

That caravan of nearly 20 vehicles drove around the campus in late afternoon while displaying flags for their candidate of choice. Some vehicles also displayed the confederate flag—an acknowledged and tragic symbol of racism and hatred in our country’s history. The event on our campus echoed similar events around Berrien County yesterday which involved as many as 50 vehicles in some spots.

While we support and defend the right for each one of us to hold and express differing political views, we also wish to clearly speak out against and especially condemn the use of symbols of hatred, such as the confederate flag, as we express our differing political viewpoints or attitudes.

We call our community to instead affirm the values and standards set out in our Student Handbook which acknowledge that there is a place in our Andrews University community for “peaceful, law-abiding demonstrations, such as rallies, marches and vigils,” even as we note that this right for demonstrations is explicitly focused on and reserved for our on-campus student, faculty and staff community.

As our colleague Vice President Michael Nixon shared earlier this semester in his Divino blog post, “Civility and Political Speech at Andrews University,” our meaningful engagement in the national political process is an important personal decision that each one of us should make; in fact, it’s a sacred responsibility for each one of us.

We must remember, though, that as we get involved in these political processes, our actions and expressions of viewpoints must be guided by God-centered values and boundaries that recognize and honor our differences, and which also understand and adhere to the policies of our University community. This includes, specifically, a prohibition of partisan campaigning on our Andrews University campus. Our thanks to those who immediately shared reports and videos of yesterday’s activities with our Campus Safety team.

We wish to keep each member of our Andrews University community safe. If you see activities that you are concerned about, we invite you to immediately contact our Office of Campus Safety at 269-471-3321, so that we can be aware of, and seek to directly intervene in and prevent, any harmful activities of this kind.

As the United States prepares for the significant civic and personal opportunity to cast our votes, Andrews University urges each member of our Andrews University community to pursue and express our varying political viewpoints in the right context, manner and spirit.

May God bless our campus, and the United States of America, as we prepare for the upcoming November elections in this country.

Cordially,

Andrea Luxton
President

Christon Arthur
Provost