Statement on DACA/Silence on Bristol

Professor Bergman issues a powerful and provocative expression of the dismay and passions of millions who yearn for University Presidents and leaders in every sphere of activity, public and private, including the present occupant of the oval office, to be even handed when acting and speaking of law enforcement and peace keeping personnel. That means human beings, just like you and me, only better.

It's a simple matter to recognize the service of police officers who put their lives at risk daily to keep us safe. It is only ordinarily humane, when they are killed in the line of duty, to grieve for them and their families, and for us all, who properly understood, constitute one community. When they are lured to their execution by ambush, it is especially egregious for those with a platform and a megaphone to remain silent. By their silence, or their lukewarm denunciations (we know who you are) and their obligatory professions of sympathy, they have aligned themselves with murders, another example of their complicity with those who demonize the police, identify them with oppression and insanely call for their defunding.

They have villainized the police and unconscionably put them in the crosshairs. It is obligatory for us to organize and come to the aid and support of our men and women in blue, recognizing they at are beck and call, "in sunshine and in shadow." 

-Timothy Moynahan

On Oct 18, 2022, at 8:41 AM, Bergman, Jay (History) <bergmanj@ccsu.edu> wrote:

Terence Cheng, President, Connecticut State Colleges and Universities, 61 Woodland Street, Hartford CT 06105

Dear President Cheng:

Your concern for CSCU students adversely affected by a recent court ruling declaring the DACA program unlawful, expressed in your statement of Friday, October 14, is understandable.

These students are not responsible for the unlawful entry into the United States of their parents.

This past Thursday morning, barely thirty-six hours prior to the issuance of your statement, three policemen in Bristol, Connecticut, were ambushed and brutally shot, two of them fatally.

The shootings were covered extensively on television and in print media not only in Connecticut, where flags are at half-staff, but also nationally. Last Friday evening the New York Yankees paid tribute to the two murdered police officers before an American League Division Series game against the Cleveland Guardians. This coming Friday, the day of the dead officers' funeral, Bristol schools will be closed.

Why have you not issued a statement condemning these shootings and extending condolences to the families of the victims?

There are surely students here at CCSU in New Britain, directly adjacent to Bristol, understandably traumatized by the shootings who might have been comforted by a public statement from you. Some of these students might have been friends or acquaintances of the three victims and their families.

Last November you sent to the CSCU Community an email condemning the verdict a jury reached in the case of Kyle Rittenhouse in Kenosha, Wisconsin, over nine hundred miles from Connecticut.

And yet, after a brutal murder a mere nineteen miles from the CSCU System Office in Hartford, you are silent.

Why?

In light of opinions you have expressed in previous occasions in your capacity as CSCU President -- that policing in America is racist and that all whites enjoy "privilege" -- one could reasonably infer that you have said nothing about the Bristol shootings because the victims were white and calling attention to their deaths and injuries would serve no political purpose. I cannot help but believe that if the victims in the shootings had been black, and the shooter a white supremacist, you would have (rightly) issued a statement of condemnation within hours.

Can you assure me that this inference is incorrect, that the murder of police concerns you regardless of their race, and that a statement from your office, expressing your outrage and your condolences, is forthcoming?

Sincerely,

Jay Bergman, Professor of History, Central Connecticut State University, New Britain CT 06050 & Member, Board of Directors National Association of Scholars

________________________________________

From: CSCU-Announcement <CSCU-Announcement@ct.edu>

Sent: Friday, October 14, 2022 2:02 PM

To: BOR - General Announcements DL

Subject: Supporting DACA Students

Dear CSCU Community:

Last week, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that found that that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is unlawful - while keeping protections in place for current participants. As a system of public college and universities that serves a large number of DACA students, we have a long history of advocating for the codification and expansion of the program. That's why I, along with the presidents of our institutions, have signed a joint letter to our congressional delegation supporting a long-term legislative solution for our undocumented students. Please take a moment to read our letter, and know that we will continue to advocate for the rights and protections of our students.

Sincerely,

Terrence Cheng, President, CSCU