It almost goes without saying that the ongoing crises in Gaza and Israel are horrific, tragic, and hard to even grasp for many of us. Almost, however, is not enough.

There is always risk in speaking out. Even the most basic humanitarian statements about protecting the lives of innocent civilians might be sideswiped by politics right now, and it is uncomfortable to take that risk in public. Discomfort is not enough of a reason to stay silent.

For those members of our community who have a personal connection to the countless people in harm’s way, it is not optional. Local protests are filled with students who know the stakes. Some of our Jewish and Muslim neighbors feel vulnerable just being themselves, regardless of the words they choose. The private comforts of their family and faith are stretched thin, and Minnesota is only getting colder. What can we do to support them?

We have heard directly and indirectly from Hamline students who do not feel safe to speak out against what is happening or even ask for help in reckoning with the devastation and grief of recent attacks. Despite the needs of our proudly inclusive campus, since the nature of this global conversation changed violently a month ago, Hamline University has steered clear of making any public statement.

At The Oracle, we have also struggled to find the words and questioned whether it was our place to address this. Hamline’s leaders are freshly aware of the risks of navigating the choppy waters of a religiously and politically charged global conflict. The privilege of our platform comes with a responsibility to take that risk. As student journalists, we continue to take the responsibility of navigating a nuanced and horrific situation very seriously, and journalism serves a very important role in times of crisis. This role is to communicate to our best ability what is important and impacting our community at any given time. However, our reporting should not serve as the single outlet for students to process the unfolding tragedy, and the university owes any student who needs one the opportunity to have a safe, supportive space during this time.

If you make money under a job title with responsibilities that include creating an equitable, safe, productive and academically accessible environment at Hamline University, then you owe it to your students to respond to our community in crisis.

Tensions have been high at our graduate counterpart Mitchell Hamline School of Law over the past few weeks as some community members felt the school had not done enough to denounce antisemitism, Hamas, and the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. This led to one professor’s resignation and multiple fence-mending public statements from Jim Hilbert, Mitchell Hamline’s interim president and dean. In Hilbert’s Nov. 3 statement, he lists tangible and measurable ways in which the law school is working to support student safety and emotional needs better.

We are calling on Hamline’s administrators to break their silence and use their platform to support those students who are unsure of whether or not they will be safe to express their grief on their own campus.

Signed,
The Editorial Board