![view of campus down Boylston Street with woman riding bike in foreground](https://today.emerson.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Campus-Boylston-700x476.jpg)
A Letter to the Community from President Bernhardt
As we approach the final days of the academic year, I’d like to share my reflections from last Monday’s Town Hall and some important lessons from my first year at Emerson.
As we approach the final days of the academic year, I’d like to share my reflections from last Monday’s Town Hall and some important lessons from my first year at Emerson.
I am pleased to announce that Michelle Gaseau has accepted my invitation to serve as interim Vice President of Marketing and Communications, a role that is crucial for our community.
As we begin a new week, I wanted to share some reflections on the past few days and where we are today as a campus community.
Emerson respects the civic activism and passion that sparked the protest in Boylston Place Alley, while also communicating concerns related to ordinance violations caused by the encampment. We also understand that clearing the encampment has significantly and adversely impacted our community.
We support our community’s right to express their views through protest. However, they must do so in a manner consistent with the laws of the City of Boston and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
The College strongly supports the right to express one’s beliefs through protest. This right comes with the responsibility of doing so without bigotry or hatred in any form.
The last few weeks have provided a chance for many of us to communicate face-to-face and listen to each other about the concerns of our community.
I would like to apologize to my fellow Emersonians for the stress and divisions our community has experienced in recent days and for the missed opportunities that could have prevented this from escalating.
We understand that our community feels fractured, and we are committed to moving beyond rhetoric, misunderstanding, and escalation to a place of compassionate listening and understanding.
We write this evening, after a day of many highs and lows, to keep our community informed about the protest earlier today outside the Cutler Majestic Theatre.