University Statement on Incident in Black Living Learning Community

October 30, 2020

To Students,

An incident occurred on Monday evening, Oct. 26, in which a student within the Black Living Learning Community hung a “Blue Lives Matter” flag in on the exterior of his residence door, facing into the common area. The University administration is aware of the incident and has discussed it at the President’s Cabinet meeting.  

While the matter is being investigated by Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution, we recognize that this was a disruptive experience and impacted students of the Black LLC, as well as Black students and leaders on campus, students who support the Black LLC, and alumni. Students expect and should feel safe within their chosen community when they join an LLC.  

Our first priority in this situation was to support the students in the Black LLC and last night we met with the entire community, their Resident Assistant and Community Director, together in person (safely, wearing masks and socially distanced) and remotely. We have taken steps to address the immediate issue and are working toward fuller resolution through the investigation. We are also committed to permanently changing the application and placement processes within LLCs to ensure this does not happen again. One of our next steps is to work together with the Black LLC and student leaders to organize a campus forum to discuss this situation as a broader community. 

We completely support Black Lives Matter and understand why the principles are an implicit foundation for the students who intentionally applied to live in the Black LLC.  

The University takes these matters seriously and will complete a full and thoughtful investigation as soon as possible.  We commit to fully supporting our students of color across campus, not only in incidents like this one but through their entire experience.  

We also need to take a moment to address the conversation that has occurred about this matter on social media. As part of our core values, Roger Williams University is dedicated to promoting civil discourse around ideas and beliefs. But we do not condone hateful speech and insults about individuals.

Sincerely,