11/29/2022
By Julie Chen

I know many of the members of our university community continue to be heartbroken by the brutal repression in Iran following months of protests by brave Iranian citizens – especially women – demanding respect and their most basic civil rights from the country’s authoritarian leaders.

Circumstances like these are when it is most important for UMass Lowell to clearly articulate its values – our respect for all individuals, our commitment to free speech and civil debate and our support for our friends and colleagues personally impacted by these tragic events.

The World Cup soccer match today between Iran and the United States is important. It is an opportunity to share the plight and the courage of the Iranian people with a broader audience.

Social media has been flooded with images of the bravery of Iranian women and girls making their own choice on whether they decide to wear a hijab. And these images reflected in western media are clearly just a fraction of the millions of unpublicized small acts of defiance happening in Iran every day as that country struggles to achieve the basic human rights all individuals deserve.

The shocking death of Mahsa Amini and now hundreds more in the last two months has demonstrated the worst of the Iranian government. But it has revealed the best of the Iranian people.

UMass Lowell proudly stands with these brave women, girls, men and boys – many of them high school and college students – fighting for freedom and equality. And with all of you as we demand justice.