Dear Highline College Community,

I’d like to acknowledge the heartbreak happening around the world in Palestine, Israel and felt here at Highline College within our classrooms and throughout campus. It’s likely you’ve felt the recent tragic events in your life –– whether it’s because you have family who have suffered in the region, you’ve been watching the news or are hearing multiple perspectives by scrolling social media.

In these times of war and conflict, innocent lives are lost and significant damage is done. We hurt with those affected because we empathize with their pain. It is because of our humanity that we will often feel a variety of emotions, including anger, confusion, devastation, shock, grief or apathy during great losses.

I know this news is difficult to process. We at Highline College are here for you.  Highline College is and will continue to be a safe and welcoming place for our entire community.  In the days ahead we want to continue to be a source of strength and safety for you.  I want to remind you about Highline’s Bias Incident Response Team (BIRT), which is available to staff, faculty and students to report bias incidents and hate crimes. The team is responsible for monitoring, assessing, and coordinating a college response to those incidents.

Those in need of support or who wish to speak to a mental health professional are encouraged to use our college resources. The college’s Counseling Center is open to students and the Employee Assistance Program is available to employees and for members of our community, Crisis Connections provides a 24-hour crisis line at 866-427-4747.

We are here for you in these trying times.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

John

John R. Mosby, Ph.D.

President