Last week, in an email to faculty, staff and students, Eastern Mennonite University acknowledged and responded to Lauren Shifflitt’s testimony to the stalking and abuse she experienced from former EMU Vice President of Enrollment, Luke Hartman. The EMU statement has been shared widely through social media. EMU’s public response to Lauren Shifflett’s testimony impacts Lauren, survivors of sexual and gender-based violence broadly speaking, and it impacts the way the wider Mennonite public goes about processing the relationship of this case of complex personal and systemic violence to Mennonite identity, faith and practice. We at Our Stories Untold desire to work in support of Mennonites who sincerely strive to act in solidarity with those vulnerable to abuse and its repercussions. We do not take pleasure in voicing opposition for opposition’s sake. However, when Mennonite institutions choose to speak and act in ways that further exacerbate systems of sexualized violence, we see it as an ethical obligation, an obligation of faith and a necessary practice of solidarity with survivors of sexual and gender-based violence to speak. An open letter from OurStoriesUntold to Eastern Mennonite University in response to its statement regarding L. Shifflett’s testimony Dear EMU Cabinet and Board of Directors, Your statement […]
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