President Andrew Hsu sent the following message to the campus community on May 31, 2020:
Dear Campus Community,
As you know, numerous protests continued to take place around the country on Saturday and into the early morning hours today in response to the recent death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Unfortunately, a number of peaceful protests, including one in downtown Charleston, turned violent, with some committing acts of vandalism, such as breaking windows, setting fires and attempting to loot local businesses. In addition to damage to numerous properties along and around King Street, some windows and doors were broken on several of our campus buildings, including portions of the Warren Place Residence Halls (which were not unoccupied at the time), the College of Charleston Bookstore on Calhoun Street and the College Corner store on King Street.
I want to thank our Public Safety officers and Facilities Management crews who worked through the night to safeguard our campus, to secure properties and to make emergency repairs. College leaders remain in close contact with City of Charleston and police officials to coordinate law enforcement efforts. Although summer classes are currently taking place online, there are a few students and employees who remain on campus. Public Safety officers have increased patrols and will maintain a visible presence on and around campus. All campus emergencies should be reported by calling 911. Non-emergencies can be reported by calling 843.953.5609.
As assessment and repair of campus properties continues and as we monitor the situation throughout the day, any decisions impacting work schedules for Monday and beyond will be announced to campus ahead of time. As we remain in Phase 1 of our return-to-work-on-campus plan, most campus employees will continue to work remotely.
Students who wish to talk virtually with a counselor today can reach a counselor through our Public Safety office at 843.953.5609. If you have other safety concerns, either for yourself or for others, please use the FAST (Faculty/Staff Assisting Students in Trouble) Form. A member of our student care team will follow up as quickly as possible.
As a campus community, we strongly denounce the acts that led to George Floyd’s death, and we also do not condone violence or criminal acts in response. As a university, we believe in Americans’ rights to free speech and peaceful assembly and will uphold and defend these rights for any members of our community. But no matter how upset and angry we may be about the injustices taking place in our country, we implore our community to remain calm, to comply with all laws and to refrain from engaging in destruction of property and violence toward others.
Sincerely,
Andrew
Andrew T. Hsu, Ph.D.
President
College of Charleston