UPDATE FROM PACE//Email Sample Script
FRIENDS:
I just received and email from Jesse Oxfeld, assistant to Mr. Krislov, who says:
This is a smart suggestion, but of course there are also liability/safety/etc risks we have to consider. Including that we’re mandated by the state to be closed down. But we have a meeting scheduled tomorrow morning with a number of Pace officials to see if we’re able to do anything and if so what. We’ll be able to have a more substantive response tomorrow.
Of course, the answer isn't ideal, but it's a step.
Now, we need to make sure that by the time that meeting starts tomorrow, that everyone has made well aware how necessary this action is. Pace needs to try every option to make this happen, not just give up because the University isn't supposed to be holding in-person class.
BELOW is a sample script of an email you can send to President Krislov yourself, just add in your name and relationship to the school. I'd recommend CCing his Chief of Staff and his Assistant as well, since they seem to be fielding his emails regardless.
Thank you to Christine Shepard for providing critical contact info for this and Lorian Gish for developing the sample script!!
Thank you for all the support, and I hope you are all taking care of yourselves as we all push towards justice.
#BLACKLIVESMATTER #STEPUPPACE
_________________________________________________________________
TO: MKrislov@pace.edu
CC: joxfeld@pace.edu - cheilberger@pace.edu
SUBJECT: President Krislov, Take Action Now and Fight to Make Pace a Rest and Recovery Zone for Peaceful Protestors
_________________________________________________________________
Dear Mr. Krislov,
My name is [NAME, MAJOR & GRADUATION YEAR or RELATION TO SCHOOL]. Please click on the above link to see the over 2,400 student and alumni signatures we have amassed for this cause. Through my years at Pace, the people I met in and around my education and college experience all helped me open my eyes to a broader world view. At the same time, I heard and saw people of color, my friends and colleagues, consistently voicing concerns about how they were treated in day to day life at the university.
You said in your statement that the recent days have shown us that “significant number of our fellow citizens are devalued and mistreated because of the color of their skin”. With all due respect Mr. Krislov, the incidents I saw in my college experience at Pace, over the years, are examples of devaluing and mistreating people. The police have murdered innocent people in the streets. That is beyond mistreatment, and the comment alone devalues what is truly happening out in the world.
In protests passing Police Plaza and the Pace University campus, I saw officers barricading and blockading our school, a private university. With the resources and privileges Pace possesses, in location, space, and money, why is a written statement the only action taken while protests are right in Pace’s back and front yards? In the streets and neighborhoods of its students?
My question to you is this: With so many of your students not only fighting for this movement, and many that are directly affected by systemic racism in their daily lives. Rather than “standing with your students” as your suggest, why don’t you do what you’ve claimed:
“We are steadfast in our belief in the power of peaceful protest. And we support anyone and everyone in our community working to change the world for the better.”
Given Pace’s proximity to many of New York’s most important public spaces and forums, I call on Pace University to truly aid and support those peacefully protesting, until we see true, tangible proof of progress.
1. Open up dedicated spaces in the school that are meant as protestor rest/recovery points.
2. Let protestors use the restrooms.
3. Hand out water and snacks.
4. Be fully stocked with first aid gear from our currently unused health center to assist anyone that may be harmed.
5. Provide masks and gloves and other items to assist stopping the spread of COVID while engaging in necessary protest.
6. Provide monetary and material resources to help achieve this goal, as to not draw funds away from the Movement or the students supporting it.
These are just the ideas of one person, I’m sure as a Pace Community we can continue to develop this list into more actions.
I realize that these ideas and this concept presents many logistical issues. But I ask you to truly look to fight through those, and exhaust any and all option in the process to make this happen.
True change starts from within. I call on you, as President of the University, to take steps to ACTIVELY MOVE towards tangible change. Past my call to support the protests in action, not simply words, I don’t know what those steps may be for you and the rest of the University. There is so much work to be done to dismantle the structures in place, but we need big players like Pace to step in and use their power. You have said you will hear us, and I am calling to be heard. Actions speak louder than words, Mr. Krislov. Aside from a one-page press release on Pace letterhead, how will you be using your power as President of Pace University to truly enact change?
Sincerely,
NAME