November 21, 2022

Dear NYU Community Members,

We are devastated by the news this past weekend that at least five people were murdered and over 25 injured in a mass shooting at Club Q—an LGBTQ+ club in Colorado Springs, Colorado. We send our deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims of this attack. Our hearts go out to the survivors of the shooting, as well as the LGBTQ+ community in Colorado Springs and the surrounding area, who are navigating the trauma that comes with surviving an assault on one’s life, homes, and communities.

It is incomprehensible for someone to violently target a space meant to center joy and community for members of the LGBTQ+ community. For many who have spent time at LGBTQ+ bars and nightclubs, this act of violence has hit all too close to home. This incident is reminiscent of the shootings at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in 2016, which took the lives of 49 people. These acts of violence against LGBTQ+ communities and their allies, as well as the social and political conditions (e.g., gun laws, anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric in politics and media) that fuel this violence, are deplorable.

For those in the NYU community who need it and are available, the Office of Global Inclusion, the Center for Global Spiritual Life, and the Division of Student Affairs will host a processing space on Wednesday, November 23, at 12:00 p.m. ET via Zoom. We hope this can be a space to be in community with one another and share reflections on how this attack is impacting us, especially as we move into the upcoming break.

Campus Safety and Wellness Resources

In Community,

Office of Global Inclusion, Diversity, and Strategic Innovation