Dear community,

As we prepare for the excitement and promise of a new semester, I want to take a moment to reflect on the very serious news of the past week.

We remain horrified by the allegations, and we will continue to cooperate closely with law enforcement as the legal process continues. In addition, we take these allegations very seriously and my office will address these charges under Penn State’s established student conduct process.

I want to share our gratitude to our law enforcement partners. The safety and security of our campus is our top priority, and we share in their commitment to provide the safest possible environment for our students and our wider community.

On campus, University Police and Public Safety are on duty 24 hours a day and employ fully sworn officers with state-of-the-art law enforcement technology. In our local community, while outside of Penn State police jurisdiction, we work in direct partnership with local law enforcement agencies in the municipalities adjacent to campus.

Our mission is to create a community in which our students can flourish. That only occurs when we stand up to this type of behavior, which is why we continue our important work — in partnership with our fraternity and sorority community — to educate students about hazing, alcohol and other drug prevention and the important obligations of being a recognized student organization. These enhanced efforts, which will be shared in the next several weeks, include a parent education video, a hazing prevention education campaign, our annual messaging to student leaders and outreach efforts for harm reduction related to drug use.

As the new semester begins, focusing on our mission couldn’t be more important. Our students are returning to campus this week, and, at this weekend’s convocation, we will welcome thousands of new students to campus, each of them excited for the expansive opportunities Penn State offers.

Ensuring all students have an environment that enables their success is crucial: the freedom to learn, to make choices and to grow. We work to educate students on how to be successful at Penn State, how to find their paths and how to face their challenges. However, when students’ behavior threatens our community, we must respond immediately and activate the processes we have in place to protect others.

As we start the fall semester, no time of the year is more exciting: the start of new friendships, the beginning of new intellectual journeys, new opportunities for learning and new experiences. All of those things occur because of the incredible academic community we create each year.

It is the unique, shared bonds we have as Penn Staters and our commitment to our mission that make Penn State so special.

Sincerely,
Andrea Dowhower
Vice President for Student Affairs, Penn State