Dear Students, 

Welcome to the start of a new academic year! On behalf of the entire Division of Student Affairs, we are so excited for your arrival in the coming days — 427 of you for the first time! 

The start of the fall semester is a very special time filled with lots of energy and often competing emotions. It can be both exciting and overwhelming — perhaps tinged with a bit of anxiety, particularly for first-year students. Please know that my team and I are here to support you through it all.

As you engage in campus life and dive into your academic interests and co-curricular activities, we want to help you prioritize — above all — your physical and emotional well-being. Whether that means taking a hike through the Crum Woods, working out, practicing yoga, meditating in the Matchbox, crafting in the Gender & Sexuality Center, meeting with a counselor at Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), or simply hanging out and playing games with friends in the new Community Commons, I encourage you to find time and space to take care of yourselves.

There are so many campus resources at Swarthmore to help you navigate the inevitable ups and downs of college life. Your student deans, academic advisors, resident assistants, CAPS counselors, staff members in the Office of Student Engagement, Career Services, our FLI program for first-generation and low-income students, the Black Cultural Center, Intercultural Center, International Student Center, Interfaith Center, and Gender & Sexuality Center (I could keep going!) are dedicated to your support and success. Please take advantage of them — we’ll keep reminding you that we’re here to help.

I’m sure all of us are aware of the activism on many college and university campuses across the country this past academic year related to the war in the Middle East; Swarthmore was no exception. Let me be clear — Swarthmore deeply values your right to express yourselves and participate in peaceful protest. A broad, liberal arts education means engaging with and understanding a spectrum of perspectives and worldviews, including those you might disagree with or even find offensive. It is also our responsibility to protect the right of all of our community members to live, work, and learn in an environment free of harassment, intimidation, and significant disruption. Balancing these two priorities can be challenging, but it is essential, and we are committed to both equally.

Our Student Code of Conduct (“the Code”) within the Student Handbook details policies and practices designed to support expressive conduct while ensuring all students’ ability to engage in their own Swarthmore experience. The Handbook is updated each summer, and we regularly summarize those changes ahead of the academic year. This year’s changes include several updates and clarifications to the Code based on our collective experience last year. They cover broad areas, such as what constitutes excessive noise; clarifications to unauthorized use of campus property and services, including prohibitions against encampments and building occupations; and revisions to the banners, chalking, postings, and public displays policy. You can read a more detailed account of the updates on the Student Affairs website.

Please keep in mind that it is every student’s responsibility to be familiar with and abide by the Code and our policies. Students who are alleged to have violated the Code during last year’s activism are moving through the Student Conduct process right now because, while some of the protests were peaceful, other actions (e.g., vandalism, failure to comply, harm to others) were beyond the bounds of what the Code allows. None of these charges pertain to peaceful protests or the content of any of the protests, but only specific behaviors that are alleged to have violated the Code. It’s worth reiterating that the charges include alleged violations by students supporting Palestine as well as those supporting Israel.

All of us share in the privilege of being members of the Swarthmore community. That privilege comes with certain obligations and expectations, including that we will listen and work to understand each other’s views and do so with kindness, thoughtfulness, and mutual respect. There are many ways to express oneself that do not harm, threaten, intimidate, or harass others. I hope we can commit to putting ourselves in each other’s shoes, thinking about the impact our actions have on others, and working toward common goals that move us forward, rather than divide us.

I encourage all of you to enjoy your time here. Yes, you will face challenges, but you will also find many moments of fun and joy. Your time as students is fleeting. Even the members of our incoming class will wonder four years from now how it went by so fast. Celebrate this experience and cherish it. Explore, create, discover, be curious, and embrace all that Swarthmore has to offer. 

Wishing you a great start to the year,     

Stephanie Ives
Vice President for Student Affairs