Seattle University is committed to the mission of educating the whole person and promoting inclusive excellence and social justice. Academic Assembly members are troubled by the recent events on campus that involved the President’s condemnation of the cover of The Spectator depicting a person performing at the Annual Drag show. We are further troubled by the actions of a member of the faculty who chose to remove copies of the newspaper because of his concern about the impact of the image on admitted students and their parents. Although both the President and the faculty member have issued statements of apology, we the members of Academic Assembly:

• condemn any form of censorship and the destruction of Spectator newspapers

• support the freedom of student journalists to publish on topics they deem important to the campus community

• affirm the university policy of inclusivity, and specifically endorse our commitment to LGBTQ faculty, staff, students, alumni, and community members

• reiterate Academic Assembly’s fundamental role in decision making in academic matters as an elected faculty body and as specified in the Bylaws

• recognize that the intellectual work of a university involves critical thinking, free and open debate, and reflection on all topics

• and call for a university wide forum organized by Academic Assembly to debate the issues raised by this series of events

—Frank J. Shih, Ph.D., President, Academic Assembly