McCoy voices dissent to Trump executive order

Tuesday, January 31, 2017
President Mark McCoy

Joining a chorus of voices nationwide in the academic and business worlds, DePauw University President D. Mark McCoy has voiced his frustration with recent actions by U.S. President Donald Trump.

In a message posted on Monday, McCoy expressed his opposition to recent actions by Trump regarding travel bans and possible deportations for individual from certain Muslim-majority nations.

McCoy’s letter, in part, reads as follows:

Dear students, prospective students and families of DePauw,

I feel compelled to write to you today to express and to recommit to our values as an institution. DePauw has a proud history of international education and welcomes faculty, staff and students of all countries, races, religions and walks of life. We welcomed our first international students in 1877 and every day from that day to this has provided another opportunity to benefit from the diversity of our backgrounds, experiences and nationalities. The strength of our country is built upon that diversity.

You are always welcome here. We are committed to the free exchange of ideas, the openness of expression and the freedom of religion. This will not change. It is a bedrock principle of our very identity.

America was founded with a diversity of opinions and has welcomed them ever since. We, as a country, will always be involved in vigorous debate, as we should, about exactly who we are and who we strive to be. In the midst of such debates, we must call upon our core values to remind us of what we believe and to orient ourselves to what is right. It is that call that prompts this letter from me.

I, as an individual and as a college president, fundamentally disagree with the recent executive order. I am troubled by the confusion it has sown and by the disruption to the lives of so many. It strikes at the values that we at DePauw hold dear.

I look forward to seeing you on campus. You are welcome here.

All good things,

D. Mark McCoy, Ph.D.

President

DePauw University

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  • As I respect your opinion, I'm sure the family members of victims of the 9/11 attack and the families of fallen soldiers resulting from 9/11 would NOT agree. Until there is little threat to Americans I support Trumps decision 100%. Furthermore, as Americans we should be putting the health and welfare of our nations veterans first! We should also be more concerned with the education of our children, food and clothing for them. Let's take care of our own first, making sure there are enough jobs for Americans before letting anymore into our country.

    -- Posted by jdtroutt71 on Wed, Feb 1, 2017, at 8:14 AM
  • jdtroutt71:

    1) Thank you for being respectful in your opinion.

    2) Obviously if we knew which people were terrorists, THOSE are the ones we would not let in. Many people who were not let in possessed green cards. They were conducting business in America or were students. It is not prudent to ban travelers en masse based on country or religion.

    3) Go ahead and voice your opinion to Mr. Trump about putting education first. He's the one who nominated the completely unqualified Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education.

    * nations veterans = nation's veterans

    * anymore = any more

    -- Posted by B23 on Wed, Feb 1, 2017, at 8:45 AM
  • Just think we could repeat history and put all Arab citizens in camps like we did during WWII.

    -- Posted by Hazel on Thu, Feb 2, 2017, at 10:53 AM
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