President Laurie Patton's Statement Regarding Recent Events in Charlottesville

Middlebury President Laurie L. Patton sent the following statement in an all-campus email on Monday, August 14, 2017.

The horrible events this weekend in Charlottesville, Va., which culminated in the death of one person and injuries to many more, have left the country shaken. The hatred, racism, and violence of the kind brought to the University of Virginia campus have no place in America, no matter what our political affiliations are. I know the Middlebury community joins me in condemning the resurgent white supremacist movement and its followers.

Our hearts are broken at the images we have seen and the thought of the pain visited upon the victims and families of these acts of domestic terrorism.

As the summer winds down and we begin to look forward to the start of the academic year, I wish everyone in our community courage. We cannot help but be outraged at the reality before us; let us unite in our condemnation of this resurgence of hatred and work together to fight it with conviction and belief in a better future.

Laurie Patton
President