Dear members of the NYSWI community,
Over the past week there has been a great deal of hurt and speculation about the Girls Coming of Age panel at the Book Festival last weekend. It has been difficult to bear for the authors, our extended University family and our fellow Jewish and Muslim communities.
This was a terrible situation, and we should have been more thoughtful in how we approached this panel and the concerns that were raised by all the authors. The New York State Writers Institute is committed to programming that celebrates diverse voices and facilitates conversations that create opportunities for understanding and mutual respect.
In this instance, we did not live up to that ideal. We apologize to the participants of the panel for not treating this programming with the careful consideration it needed and for any consequences they faced as a result.
We are committed to learning, growing, and doing better to uphold the core values of our mission. We are grateful to our colleagues, friends, and community for sharing their perspectives with us and for giving us the opportunity to learn from them. Honoring these relationships will be paramount as we identify the next steps we should take, which will always include continuing our commitment to showcasing diverse voices to broad audiences.
Hatred of any kind, including antisemitism and Islamophobia, has no place on our campus, and we condemn it unequivocally.
Paul Grondahl
Opalka Endowed Director, NYS Writers Institute