Dear students, faculty and staff,
As many of you now know, additional information emerged last night from the Merced County Sheriff’s Office that suggests possible motivations for the tragic events that rattled our campus on Wednesday. This includes information about particular students being targeted by the suspect and details about the plan to kill them. This is terribly upsetting for all of us.
Like most of you, I may never fully comprehend the motivations. But I want certainty about the facts. Unfortunately, given the complexity of the investigation involving local, federal and UC law enforcement agencies, certainty is not yet possible. There are unanswered questions. I ask for your continued patience as we let the investigators do their jobs so that we may rely on accurate and complete information about the tragic events that took place.
UC Merced is a unique community of dedicated students, staff and faculty who respect one another and value diversity in thought, culture, ethnicity, religion, sexual identity, life experiences and more. This is a special place. It is important that we remind ourselves and one another that the events of November 4, 2015, will not define us. As we try to make sense of these events as a community, I urge all of us to practice kindness and offer our support and understanding to each other and all our fellow UC Merced community members as we heal these wounds.
Sincerely,
Dorothy Leland, Chancellor
