Statements

The recent terrorist attacks by Hamas against the people of Israel and the subsequent retaliatory strikes have understandably caused distress and concern across the globe and in the Arizona State University community.

There was a fire this morning in a storage space on the first floor of Arizona State University’s Palo Verde East residence hall on the Tempe campus.  There were no injuries and damage is minimal, but not without consequence. Power at the building has been shut off and that will be the condition for the near term while water damage in the basement and on the first and second floors is assessed along with the electrical system for the building.  This work is underway. 

Arizona State University, the University of Arizona and the University of Utah will join the Big 12 Conference in 2024, positioning the universities and their student-athletes for increased stability and success.

Members of the Joint Legislative Ad Hoc Committee on Freedom of Expression at Arizona’s Public Universities:

Thank you for providing Arizona State University with the opportunity to present and testify before the committee. My colleagues and I did our best to answer your questions, but as you know there were some instances when we committed to follow up with you and to provide more detail. This letter is intended to do that and provide some additional clarification about comments made during the committee hearing.

1. Tom Lewis – Michael Crow communication

Arizona State University is committed, in practice, not just rhetoric, to all things that support free speech and all its components. 

American universities have long been an environment where ideas are shared and tested, beliefs are expressed, and issues are debated. Along with that comes arguments and disagreements over strongly held beliefs. It can be quite noisy and sometimes uncomfortable, but in a free society, universities must be safe places that demonstrate tolerance for civil public discourse.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina will have no impact on the diversity of the Arizona State University student body or ASU’s commitment to having a student body which reflects the population of the State of Arizona.

Arizona State University is committed to, in practice, not just rhetoric, all things that support free speech and all of its components.

ASU employee Ann Atkinson has lost the distinction between feelings and fact in her recent comments about what prompted her loss of employment at the T.W. Lewis Center at Arizona State University.

A threat posted last night on social media has been thoroughly investigated and is a hoax. Multiple reports of the same threat were made and it may have originated overseas. As always, ASUPD will alert the community if a credible danger is present. 

At approximately 1:30 a.m. the ASU Police Department received a report of a suspect with a gun at the intersection of McAllister and Lemon. Officers responded immediately to the scene, and community members in the area were told to shelter in place. As officers arrived, the suspect fired multiple shots before fleeing, but was quickly apprehended. No injuries have been reported. A male suspect is in custody, and a gun has been recovered. The suspect is not affiliated with ASU.