Since his appointment to the position of President in fall of 2016, David Wippman has consistently failed to carry out the duties of his office. He has been callus and dismissive in the face of real student concerns about on-campus racism, mental health concerns, sexual assault, and the climate crisis. He defended the free-speech rights of a neo-nazi on our (private) campus and has made continued empty promises to the students of color for whom he is responsible regarding the violent, tokenist, and exclusionist environment at Hamilton College. During his tenure, the school upheld an honorary degree to a known nazi (this is not the place to get into Hamilton College’s deeply racist and white supremacist history+existence to this day, although it must be addressed). Most recently, his abject, EMBARRASSING failure to support the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of George Floyd’s killing, which involved TWO inadequate responses, ONE apology which failed to address the actual problem, and then a perfectly lukewarm “condemnation” of racism, makes it perfectly clear how unfit he is for this job. On Juneteenth, he created a committee for racial justice, which professor Shelley Haley expresses interest in joining. Professor Haley, a universally beloved professor of Classics and Africana studies*, wrote in a Facebook post that she has been the ONLY female of African descent* on the faculty for many years during her time at Hamilton. However, Wippman’s answer to her was “we cannot let everyone in who asks, but we welcome your input.” ENOUGH. 

He scoffed and smirked at a small rally for fossil fuel divestment during the trustee visit, and when asked to speak, said “I’m happy to have a discussion, but making demands is not the way to make change.” This attempt to neutralize student efforts was seen for what it was—a dismissal of valid student concerns in favor of big fossil fuel dollars. Of the MORE THAN ONE BILLION-DOLLAR endowment that Hamilton boasts, he was quoted as saying “we must raise substantial additional funds to meet our goals for the College’s future.” These "goals" are not representative of the student body, and they are no longer acceptable.

He has repeatedly shown his complete lack of concern for student health. He did not cancel classes or modify the school attendance policy during a norovirus outbreak in 2017. He was the second to last NESCAC president to close the school for Coronavirus, and he hosted the trustees the weekend before spring break despite the increasingly urgent coronavirus crisis. Despite the fancy new health center, mental health resources continue to be inaccessible to most students, with one-month waiting periods for appointments with psychiatrists. This will surprise no one who attended the “town hall” following multiple on-campus suicides/deaths. He and his administration sat with their BACKS to the chapel, despite having been asked to sit on stage to facilitate discussion. He refused to apologize for the school’s part in those deaths and made no moves to improve the campus climate following this gathering. He even failed to hold a memorial for the students who had passed, despite expressing his intention to do so.

This is by no means a comprehensive list, but it is MORE than enough to oust David Wippman from his post. Hamilton College, if you fail to act now and he remains in power, you will have made a crystal clear statement on the side of injustice. If you decide to uphold white supremacy now, you will no long have the benefit of the doubt (or, I’m sure, many alums’ pocket change). You have a choice: continue as you have been doing, with little consequence for those at the top of this food chain but disastrous consequences for your students, or make a small step in the opposite direction of your fraught history. Choose wisely.

#blacklivesmatter

*these statements have been edited from "universally beloved professor of Africana studies" and "the only female of color on the faculty" at the request of Professor Haley herself. My apologies for failing to know my stuff and be in touch with her before publishing this petition!