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Dear Wayne State students, faculty, and staff, I extend my gratitude to everyone who shared their thoughtful responses to my Friday message. As I said in my last message, our community is facing challenges that are painful and upsetting for so many, and I very much appreciate your engagement in these troubled times. I believe our Warrior community is strongest when we work through challenges together. Here is another brief update on recent events. Since its establishment on the evening of May 23, the encampment on Wayne State’s campus has varied in size and no confrontations have been reported. Our university leadership team remains committed to continuing an open dialogue with occupants of the encampment. In that spirit, Patrick Lindsey, Vice President of Government and Community Affairs, visited the encampment and spoke with their identified representatives on Friday and Saturday. After I mentioned this visit in my Friday email, some posts on social media claimed, for example, that “nobody from admin met” with occupants of the encampment. We openly recorded Friday's interaction and you can watch it here. Today, in his second visit, Vice President Lindsey confirmed that he relayed to university leadership the two verbal demands shared with him on Friday. In reiterating our health and safety concerns, he shared that we were providing two portable toilets and one large dumpster to promote the health and safety of the occupants of the temporary encampment and the larger campus community. Though the encampment is temporary, we recognize an immediate need to promote health and safety with temporary resources. He also requested that the occupants of the encampment clear blocked walkways, return equipment relocated from other campus sites and roadways, and plan for the end of the temporary encampment. They acknowledged his requests and provided a written list of demands, which we are reviewing. A recording of this interaction is here. I expect that this ongoing dialogue will continue. In the meantime, university leadership, including the Board of Governors, continues to meet and consult widely on the situation. Look for future periodic updates. Thank you for your commitment to Wayne State.
Dr. Kimberly Andrews Espy
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