University Messages
Messages from President Magill, Penn Board of Trustees, and other Penn leaders.
“We are all members of the Penn community, and we all deserve to be heard and respected. But hateful speech has no place at Penn.”
Penn President Liz Magill
Messages from President Magill, Penn Board of Trustees, and other Penn leaders.
During times of crisis, University leaders are committed to supporting, engaging, and communicating with our community. Here are the facts around Penn’s response and actions.
Guidance from a free speech expert and scholar and Penn’s Student Code of Conduct.
Campus-wide resources for safety, health, and support.
On Nov. 1 President Liz Magill launched Penn’s Action Plan to Combat Antisemitism in a message to the Penn community. A whole-University approach, anchored in the U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, the Plan centers on three broad areas: Safety and Security, Engagement, and Education. Initiatives, both immediate and longer term, will direct Penn to provide for the safety and security of every member of the University community, engage deeply and meaningfully with the Jewish community and the broader Penn community to develop solutions to call out and combat antisemitism, and ensure that everyone at Penn is educated and knowledgeable about antisemitism.
Penn Public Safety is paying very close attention to the information circulating regarding the safety of our community and takes their safety and any threats very seriously.
As part of our planning, Penn’s Division of Public Safety has further increased security and support for religious, cultural, and other spaces where students gather on and near campus. At the same time, we will continue reaching out to leaders and groups across campus to offer support and inquire about their well-being.
We work in close partnership with our local, state, and federal partners to share information on protests, rallies, and other gatherings happening in the region, receiving multiple updates throughout the day. Public Safety will continue to attend gatherings to ensure the physical safety of participants and onlookers alike. Penn Police will take immediate action should there be any physical threat of harm and pursue it to the fullest extent of the law.
DPS members sit on the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force and are in regular contact with Federal and other officials on these topics. We have reached out to our Federal partners for more information on how the new initiative will impact our ongoing working relationship. We will continue to work with our Law Enforcement partners to ensure the safety of the community which we serve.