Editor’s Note: This letter has been edited to remove certain allegations that lacked sufficient supporting evidence.
This letter was sent to President Eduardo Peñalver and his Chief of Staff, Anne L. Moran on November 12th, 2025. At the time it was sent, sixteen clubs had signed on. Now, as of November 23rd, 2025, twenty-three clubs have signed on to the letter. Moran acknowledged receiving the letter and said that she would pass it along to the Board of Trustees. The board had their quarterly meeting on November 19th, 2025 but we have yet to receive a response from them regarding this letter.
To the Office of the President, Board of Trustees, Deans’ Council, Faculty, Administrative Staff, and greater Seattle University Community:
We, the executive teams of the Seattle University Students for Justice in Palestine and Students for Sustainable Action, along with twenty-three student organizations and counting, write to express our dissatisfaction with the University’s decision to instate Fr. Steve Sundborg as interim president after Peñalver’s transition. We call on the Board of Trustees and greater Administration to further reconsider this decision given Sundborg’s well-documented record of homophobia, ties to sexual assault cases, and politicized attacks on students’ access to reproductive healthcare.
During his time as Seattle University president, when a student shared experiences of domestic violence, instead of supporting his students, he wrote a letter attesting to the “good faith” of [a law school student] who engaged in such actions. Sundborg’s presence instills hostility and discomfort in the student body, and perpetuates a toxic culture of passiveness and tolerance of abusers and assault.
Sundborg’s consistent lack of respect for, and suppression of the LGBTQ+ community exhibits his lack of support for all the students and faculty of this university, particularly our queer community. Sundbourg’s legacy shows he is unable to lead Seattle University’s diverse community, many of whom are LGBTQ+.
During his previous duration as president, Sundborg removed access to Planned Parenthood, a vital medical service, from the University’s main healthcare website. In doing so, Sundborg showed his disrespect for students’ autonomy, and tarnished Seattle University’s legacy and its work in making the world more just and humane. Students then, and now, cite their concerns
about this university’s support of their autonomy and reproductive health, and oppose Sunborg’s overtly hostile and repressive actions.
In accordance with the reasons listed above, the undersigned organizations call on the university to choose a different interim President, condemn Sundborg’s presence and involvement with the University, and uplift students’ voices within the presidential search via a student search committee.
This statement has been co-signed by the following campus organizations:
Alpha Kappa Psi
Criminal Justice Club
French du Monde Club
Infinity Club SU
Intersectional Feminism Club
KXSU
Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán (MECHA)
Middle Eastern North African Student Association (MENA)
Muslim Student Association (MSA)
Physics Club
Political Science Club
Seattle University French Club
Seattle University Entrepreneurship Club
Seattle University Student Nurses Association (SUSNA)
Stoke
Students for Justice in Palestine
Students for Sustainable Action
SU Book Club
SU Law National Lawyers Guild
Seattle University Vietnamese Student Association
Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers United Filipino Club (UFC)
Editor’s Note: Since this letter was published, we honored the request by one organization to withdraw its signature. Read here for more information.
