Dear editor,

In light of recent events on campus, many members of our community have taken a stand against injustice. And yet, many still wonder how they can make a broader impact on the world. What can we do to address suffering, violence and oppression beyond our immediate communities?

Since early 2017, I have been following news of targeted attacks against LGBT people in Chechnya, a federal republic in southern Russia. Drawing on eyewitness accounts and personal testimonies, a report from April 2017 by the Russian opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta alleged that people across the region were being abducted, detained, tortured and killed due to their perceived sexual orientation.

For two years, the Russian LGBT Network has been working on the ground to provide support and protection to victims of the ongoing violence. So far, the group has helped over 150 people flee the region and find safety somewhere else — even if only temporarily. Yet, conditions have not gotten any better. Resources are rapidly dwindling and LGBT people remain extremely vulnerable. Just last December, reports of a new wave of crackdowns emerged, inciting renewed concern. While the world turns its back on the continuing persecution of LGBT people in Chechnya, we can no longer be silent.

This letter to the editor is a call to action. We must learn to recognize that attacks on LGBT people in Chechnya are directly related to intolerance against LGBT people — and other marginalized communities — in the United States and on this campus. If the purpose of a liberal arts education is to cultivate globally-minded citizens, we should be finding ways to fight injustice beyond our campus community.

To students, faculty, and staff who want to act in a meaningful way, please consider donating to the Chechnya Crisis Appeal. Gay Star News is organizing this fundraising campaign in partnership with the Russian LGBT Network, and proceeds will go to activists who are helping people flee the region in search of safer conditions.

It’s time we reckon with the structures of oppression that affect us on this campus, and that will continue to affect us once we leave. Our commitment to social justice shouldn’t stop at graduation. It’s necessary that we carry it forward with us into the world.

Sincerely,

Nathan Shearn

Class of 2019

College of Arts and Sciences

Published on April 9, 2019 at 9:31 pm