In a letter to the University community, President Michael Hogan has announced that in response to the recent death of student Jafar Karzoun, he has established a task force to “de-escalate” Spring Weekend:
Dear Faculty, Staff, and Students,
Many of you have written to me to express your dismay and sadness over the loss of one of our students to an act of violence subsequent to an off-campus, unsponsored gathering during Spring Weekend.
We’ve taken a number of steps in the last three years to de-escalate the risky situations that arise around Spring Weekend, particularly those related to off-campus gatherings. Yet we are still seeing violence and risk arising in our community during Spring Weekend. In recent days, several have urged me to take further action, including “canceling” University-sponsored Spring Weekend events.
While there are many different ideas regarding how to respond to the risk of violence that has arisen, there is uniform agreement that we will not tolerate it in our community during Spring Weekend or any other time of year, and that we must be pro-active in eradicating violence from our community.
Consequently, I’ve assembled and charged a Task Force to De-Escalate Spring Weekend. The Task Force will be led by executive vice president & provost Peter Nicholls and includes top-level leaders of the administration: Barry Feldman, vice president & chief operating officer; John Saddlemire, vice president for student affairs; Robert Hudd, associate vice president & chief of police; Ralph Urban, assistant attorney general; and Jim Walter, associate vice president for university communications. The task force will issue recommendations to me and our Board regarding more measures we can take to make ours a safe, non-violent community.
The task force will begin its work immediately and consult broadly with on-campus governance groups (e.g., University Senate, Undergraduate Student Government, Graduate Student Senate, Board of Trustees Student Life Committee), as well as off-campus constituencies (e.g., Governor’s Office, Mansfield Town leadership, State Police). I’ve asked the task force to issue a recommended plan of action to me no later than Sept. 1.
That recommended plan will then be shared with on- and off-campus constituencies for comment and further suggestions. With about a year before another Spring Weekend would occur, we have an excellent window of time to establish a robust action plan to eliminate violence and risk.
I’m grateful to all of you who have offered your suggestions to eradicate violence from our community and who have indicated interest in participating in our efforts to de-escalate Spring Weekend. I ask that you forward to members of the task force any ideas you have regarding how we can work together to eliminate the risk of violence during Spring Weekend and throughout the year.
I continue to believe that, overwhelmingly, our UConn community is characterized by compassion, respect, and integrity. It’s these characteristics that I know will help the Task Force meet its charge.
Sincerely,
Mike