Post-Election Message to the Community

“Kindness facilitates the quest for consensus;
it opens new paths where hostility and conflict would burn all bridges.”

Dear LMU Community:

The uncertainty of 2020 lingers as we now await the final results of our polarizing presidential election. The days ahead may be fraught. They will require patience, but the trials of the past year have prepared us. As election workers complete their tasks of counting every vote, let us enjoy pride that our students, along with their peers across the country, voted in record numbers—in many cases, beginning what we hope will be a lifelong zeal for civic engagement.

Let us carry this momentum forward to realize fully our mission and to fight incessantly for justice and equality, no matter the outcome of the election process. We must heal and foster a sense of mutual respect that deepens our engagement with one another, amidst our ideological differences, and with the world in ways that create opportunities for all to thrive.

Guided by our mission and values, LMU will continue to form courageous learners—emerging leaders who run toward the areas where ideas clash, with the goal of gaining deeper understanding and finding solutions that build humanity’s collective strength through compassion and community.

Like many of you, I remained awake last night, thinking about the election’s impact on LMU and our future. We have been through a lot together this year and we have some riddling emotions to process as we reconcile what is to come. Student Affairs and Campus Ministry welcome Lions to join one of several virtual gatherings that provide our students with tools to guide them on their restorative journeys, where needed. In the Center for Ignatian Spirituality, Fathers Wayne Negrete and Randy Roche are available to faculty and staff for pastoral counseling by Zoom, phone, or email. Please be sure to read the center’s hopeful message about care for self and others. And Father Marc Reeves, interim director of Campus Ministry, offers a prayer for our nation, “So that all may enjoy freedom, dignity and peace.”

The following resources and services are available to support and assist our community:

Community of Care – communityofcare@lmu.edu (students)
Campus Ministry – ministry@lmu.edu (students)
Student Psychological Services – 310.338.2868 (students)
Center for Ignatian Spirituality – ignacio@lmu.edu (faculty and staff)
Employee Assistance Program – (faculty and staff)
Human Resources – hr@lmu.edu (faculty and staff)

Tomorrow evening, Nov. 5 at 5 p.m., LMU Loyola Law School will host the panel "Election 2020: What Comes Next?” to inform citizens of how the electoral process will unfold in the coming days. And on Nov. 12, as part of our Anti-Racism Project virtual forum series, we invite the community to our third and final virtual forum of the semester, “Why Do People Vote Against Their Own Self-interests?: The 2020 Election and the Politics of Racial Resentment.”

Regardless of this election’s outcomes, we remain firmly bonded to our Catholic, Jesuit, and Marymount values of upholding the dignity of every person. As part of that, let us also bond with one another, no matter our respective roles at our institution: We must recognize that, at this moment, our coming together, collaboratively, will help us encounter the many challenges that often leave us redolent with uncertainty. Please know that I am with each of you, every step of this journey. Together, we will continue to fight tirelessly for the common good in our world and will champion justice for all.

In solidarity and peace, and asking that you continue to take best care,

TLS