Dear Marquette community,
On Sept. 16, after being detained by morality police in Iran for not wearing a hijab, Mahsa Amini, age 22, died while in police custody. Her death has ignited protests throughout Iran, especially among college students. In the weeks that have followed, peaceful protests calling for justice and fundamental human rights have been met with violence, arrests and governmental repression, resulting in over 328 deaths, particularly among college students. The intensity of the confrontations has been steadily escalating and is growing more dangerous.
Iranian students on our campus, especially graduate students, carry each day the weight of concern for the well-being of their friends, families, and even for themselves as this confrontation continues. You can read more about this in a recent reflection in Marquette Today from Iranian graduate students.
As a Catholic, Jesuit university, mindful that we are called “to walk with the poor, the outcasts of the world, those whose dignity has been violated, in a mission of reconciliation and justice;” and “to accompany youth in the creation of a hope-filled future” (Universal Apostolic Preferences 2, 3), let us enfold our Iranian community members with encouragement, support, compassion and attentive listening to their story.
You are invited to stand with our Iranian students in solidarity and learn more about the unfolding conflict in Iran at a Campus Ministry-hosted Candlelight Vigil for Hope and Justice on Wednesday, Nov. 16, on Eckstein Commons (on the east side of the Alumni Memorial Union) starting at 5:30 p.m. See the flyer below for more details.
Rev. James K. Voiss, S.J.
Vice President for Mission and Ministry
