Jesuit University Presidents Encourage Patience as Election 2020 Votes are Counted
BY ISN STAFF | November 6, 2020
In the days since the Tuesday, November 3 U.S. election day, as the nation awaits results as votes continue to be counted, Jesuit college and university presidents across the country are urging patience amongst their campus communities, and encourage trust and hope in the civic process. Below, ISN has compiled a summary of statements.
President Linda M. LeMura, Ph.D., said in a November 4 message to the campus community that “With Pope Francis, I call upon us to remain united even as we work through important differences. While difficult days may lie ahead, I have faith in the individuals who make up the Le Moyne community to care for each other, to act as servant-leaders for the good of each other and to respect the dignity and humanity of each other. I have faith that, as a country, we will come together as one as we build a future founded upon hope and unity.”
“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,” wrote Timothy Law Snyder, Ph.D., president at Loyola Marymount University in a letter to the LMU community. “Let us carry this momentum forward to realize fully our mission and to fight incessantly for justice and equality…”
“As we wait for our constitutionally governed ballot counting to move us to a final decision about who will be the next president and what the next Congress will look like, we are struggling. We are struggling to make sense of the obvious signs of deep division in our country that this election season has revealed,” said Paul J. Fitzgerald, S.J., president of the University of San Francisco to members of the USF community. “I want you to know: Our work to teach, mentor, research, and learn continues. Our work to advance the cause of social justice continues. Our work to strengthen our community continues.”
This post will be updated as statements and messages are released at additional Jesuit colleges and universities. To share a statement, please contact ISN communications director, Kelly Swan, by email.
Thus wrote Mahatma Gandhi: “If patience is worth anything, it must endure to the end of time. And a living faith will last in the midst of the blackest storm”.