Dear students, staff, faculty, and alumni, 

We, the Student Body, rise above the chaos and conflict taking place on our campus. While our leadership bickers with one another and clings to false forms of power, we actively seek truth, healing, and restoration at North Park University. We would like to begin by affirming President Mary Surridge's intentions to serve this university to the best of her abilities. She has shown to be an efficient fundraiser, politician, and reliable leader to certain percentages of past generations of North Parkers. However, we acknowledge that intentions mean nothing without a positive and lasting impact. The truth is that President Surridge falls short in attributes that are critical to fulfilling North Park's potential culturally, spiritually, and professionally. We are asking that President Mary Surridge resign from her position as University President and for the Board of Trustees to be reanalyzed. We can no longer be silent while our people are suffering. We are no longer content with neutrality, as it has proven an effective method of plateauing our growth towards a truly Christian, city-centered, and intercultural university. We are demanding that this University puts our core values to action, and finally confronts the blindspots in our administration head on. In summary – we, the student body, demand that North Park University becomes an institution that does not make its students fight for their dignity, education, or acceptance.

We find no fault in President Surridge’s intentions to serve the North Park Community. We simply claim that intentions are not enough. North Park needs a leader with expertise in all areas regarding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. This institution is at a crucial moment in our history. NPU’s Student Body looks radically different than it did even twenty years ago, yet we still operate on an outdated model that serves the North Parkers of yesterday. President Surridge’s clear lack of confidence with navigating nonwhite spaces and bridging gaps of inequality for BIPOC is deeply concerning for students who attend this institution, drawn in by the promises of our core distinctives. We acknowledge and admire the President’s desire to become more informed on these topics. The unfortunate truth is that North Park can’t afford another decade of stagnant leadership. The systems and structures that encourage the reign of whiteness and white supremacy at our University must be confronted and dismantled for good. We cannot emphasize this enough – North Park is in crisis. Students of color are suffering while our leadership covers up their pain with kind words and good intentions. North Park University deserves a leader who is both willing and qualified to confront the fractures of inequality on our campus. We need someone who will bring healing to the wounds inflicted on the students who were brought to a university that was not yet prepared to support them. We say these things because we believe in a North Park that is capable of welcoming, supporting, and celebrating its students through actions rather than words. Please take the time to read through this list of grievances and the lived experiences of students who shoulder the weight of this university’s shortcomings.

For our full list of grievances please see the document below: 

https://cdn.flowcode.com/prodassets/Official_List_of_Grievances.pdf?ts=1637015488936602718

For additional resources and information: 

https://linktr.ee/NPUStudentVoices