College and Community Heroism

Dear Campus Community, I believe “heroism” is the word that will become associated with the events of these past few days:

*  Heroism on the part of the officers who neutralized the attacker. These members of the City of Santa Monica Police Department and the Santa Monica College Police Department have practiced together for years to prepare for events such as Friday's.

*  Heroism on the part of our staff, faculty, and students in the Campus Library and elsewhere on campus who acted decisively to protect life.

*  Heroism on the part of our students to protect and comfort each other and provide support.

*  Heroism on the part of our faculty in the hours on Friday and this weekend to accommodate students' end-of-semester needs.

*  Heroism on the part of all of us during these same hours to arrange for the pick-up of belongings, to answer phone inquiries, to counsel  those in need, and to take the actions needed to start our work again tomorrow.

This Monday, at 7 am, the main campus reopens. All buildings and services will be available except for the Library.

There will be additional security personnel on site tomorrow and Tuesday. We are again grateful to the City of Santa Monica Police Department for this assistance.

Many members of our campus community have suggested a vigil as an important next step, and are coordinating this event to take place tomorrow night (Monday night) at 6 pmin front of the Campus Library. All are welcome. Thank you for this helpful action.

We work every day to help students overcome obstacles and to achieve their career and transfer goals. This Tuesday at 6 pm we celebrate the achievements of many of our students as they graduate. We look forward to this wonderful ceremony and time of family pride. We hope you can join us if you have not already made plans to do so.

Thank you again for your patience, your resilience, and your strength.

Chui L. Tsang

Predient