Chris Gilly-Forrer, ’13, writes on behalf of a group of former students concerned about the ongoing allegations against the Board of Trustees and President Davis. They started a petition to encourage new institutional leadership.

Dear Linfield Board Members,

As members of the Linfield community, we have written this open letter to express our anger and disappointment at President Baca’s mismanagement of allegations of sexual misconduct involving several members of Linfield’s board of directors, as well that of President Davis’ anti-Semitic comments and retaliatory behavior against those who raise concerns for faculty and students, and to demand positive change. This pattern of behavior, which we describe below, resulted in a complete loss of confidence in the ability of Linfield’s leadership to protect our students and faculty, and resulted in an institutionalization of the culture of rape to the Linfield University. For this reason, we demand that President Baca and President Davis be held accountable for their lack of leadership during these difficult times, and that Linfield take swift action to protect students and faculty from future sexual misconduct. Until then, we promise to stop charitable giving to the University altogether. We also urge all charities and private donors to withhold donations and pledge payments to the University until the necessary steps are taken to restore confidence in Linfield’s leadership.

We have been made aware of several substantiated reports from faculty and students accusing four Linfield directors of sexual misconduct, including the charges against David Jubb as early as 2017. The Lack of Consequences Beyond Promise No being executed to keep Jubb away from alcohol and students had disastrous consequences when he committed a repeat offense. While we recognize that he resigned, it was truly a case of “too little too late” as the life of another student was changed due to President Baca’s inaction. We are also aware of sexual misconduct charges against three other Linfield administrators, although faculty and student representatives have been barred from learning more about them.

When faculty, students, and even other administrators raised concerns about the handling of these accusations, they faced retaliation and said that dealing properly with these concerns caused too much harm to the University. , showing a complete lack of consideration for the damages The actions of the Trustees took place on the survivors. After the Faculty Assembly completed a vote of no confidence against President Baca, 88-18, the President and President proposed to dissolve the Faculty Assembly and replace it with a Faculty Senate. much smaller and less powerful. (Most recently, a significant majority of faculty voted No Confidence in President Baca and President Davis.) They also decided to deprive student and faculty administrators and ban them from executive sessions where sensitive issues such as that sexual misconduct and the performance of the president are discussed. and evaluated. Finally, a faculty administrator, who is Jewish, who attempted to resolve these issues was censored and, after a history of anti-Semitic remarks made to this faculty member and others, including remarks on the measure nose, the swastikas appearing on campus not being “a big deal,” and not giving soap to Jews before sending them to the shower, the president said he was destroying the University of London. interior and that he could only show loyalty by accepting the teachings of Jesus Christ in the New Testament.

This behavior amounts to a complete lack of commitment on the part of President Baca and President Davis to protect faculty and students and borders on an authoritarian silence of dissent and inquiry. Indeed, their focus on sweeping predatory behaviors under the carpet in an apparent effort to save face and remove obstacles to their power such as student and faculty accountability, amounts to actively endangering students. , professors and other administrators. We, the community of Linfield, no longer have any faith in their leadership.

To restore the damage done to Linfield University, we demand that the following measures be taken. First, the Faculty Assembly must be immediately re-established. Second, faculty and student administrators should not be deprived of their rights and should be allowed to attend executive sessions. Third, mandatory and appropriate training on sexual misconduct should be instituted for the board of directors, along with new regulations that require consequences for violations of sexual misconduct guidelines that match those required by employees of the board. the university. Fourth, and most important, we demand that President Baca and President Davis immediately resign, or have their contracts terminated, in order for Linfield to heal under the right direction of new leadership.

Many of us have chosen to sign this open letter because we love Linfield, and we cannot bear to see it reduced to a place where victims of sexual misconduct or discrimination, and those who attempt to defend them, are silenced. We believe the victims. We believe in our beloved and trusted professors, who courageously stood up for institutional responsibility. We believe in the courageous and award-winning Linfield Review journalists who have covered this story over the past year. We want Linfield to heal from this time of conflict and move forward into a new era of institutional courage, and we hope some of you will feel the same and will champion this change.

Editor’s Note: The author has asked The Linfield Review to link the petition to this letter so that students can access it, should they decide to sign. The Review maintains an objective point of view, but will link the petition on behalf of Gilly-Forrer’s claim. Those looking to sign can access it here