Subject: Anonymous Messages on Yik Yak
From: "Dean William M. Treanor" <[email-masked]>
To: All Faculty and Staff <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 2015 16:55:35 +0000

Dear Law Center Community,

As many of you who have been following the news this past week know, racial minority groups on college campuses across the country have been harassed and threatened in anonymous posts on social media platforms. We, unfortunately, are not immune to this at Georgetown Law. Recent anonymous messages that were geo-tagged to Georgetown Law on Yik Yak, a social media app, included hateful insults against several racial minority groups. These messages were offensive and hurtful to our entire community. Georgetown University Law Center's diversity is one of our greatest strengths, and I am confident that our students, staff and faculty stand united against these racist messages.

Everyone in our community has a right to express his or her opinions, even when those opinions are unpopular or controversial. But everyone in this community also deserves to feel safe and included, regardless of race, nationality, belief, sexual orientation or gender identity. Each of us must take steps to keep Georgetown Law safe and welcoming for all. If you have any information about the posting of threatening messages, please report it to the Department of Public Safety (DPS), me, or Dean Bailin. If at any point you feel threatened by a message on social media, I encourage you to report your concern immediately to DPS at 202-662-9325. And if you are concerned by the content of a message or post, whether or not you found it threatening, and want to discuss it with a member of the administration, Dean Bailin and his staff in ODOS stand ready to help.

It is possible that the hateful messages on Yik Yak were not posted by members of this community. I deeply hope that is the case. But no matter the source, the faculty and administration of Georgetown Law are profoundly committed to making this institution safe for and inclusive of every student and group. Our longstanding commitment to social justice demands nothing less.

Sincerely,
Bill Treanor