Opinion: Response to UMass Chancellor Reyes’s Statement on Not Making Statements

The following column appeared originally in the PSU (UMass Professional Staff Union) Newsletter on October 18, 2024.

I was dismayed to read the September 4 message from Chancellor Reyes (“Campus Demonstration Policy Taskforce Report and Reflections on Institutional Positions”), in which he stated that he would no longer issue statements on “national, international, or geopolitical events, unless they have a direct bearing on the functions of our campus and its mission.” I fear this is part of a larger trend of institutions of higher learning hiding behind the guise of neutrality, and thus failing to combat harmful ideologies and protect the most vulnerable—surely the core work of a public institution.

In the past several years, this university has made statements on:

• The 2017 Charlottesville car attack (“We condemn the actions of these white supremacists and neo-Nazis and we reject the false equivalencies that suggest there are ‘many sides’ to this sort of hate.”).
• The results of the 2020 presidential election (“a testament to the power of participatory democracy”).
• The January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol (“shocking and deeply disturbing”).

The current administration might consider any of these events to not have “a direct bearing” on our campus; however, each of them affects us as workers, educators, students, and individuals. Every time I read one of those past statements, it made me feel proud to be at UMass, and it made me feel safe to be part of this campus. Now that I know the current chancellor will not be taking a stand unless it directly impacts UMass Amherst, it makes me feel less proud of our institution and less safe being part of this community.

I’m reminded of the quote from Elie Wiesel: “Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.” I want to publicly call on Chancellor Reyes to be courageous (to be “revolutionary,” even), and to abandon this misguided attempt at neutrality. And I want to call on all members to keep a close eye on Reyes’s actions and words, to hold him accountable for guiding our flagship university.

Jennifer Shiao is PSU Amherst treasurer and a PSU Unit A Bargaining Team Member