After a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia left one dead and dozens injured, leaders across the country have denounced the bigotry, including President Vincent Price.
This weekend, alt-right and white nationalist protesters gathered near the University of Virginia campus and protested the removal of a confederate sculpture. Speakers included Richard Spencer, who pursued a Ph.D. program at Duke before dropping out. During the rally, a car drove through the crowd, killing one woman and injuring 19 others.
Price, who assumed office July 1 following former President Richard Brodhead's departure, joined University presidents at the University of Maryland and UVA in condemning the violence.
“What we have all seen in Charlottesville was a sickening display of hate, bigotry, racism and ignorance, which must be denounced in strongest of terms," Price said. "We mourn the weekend’s terrible injuries and tragic loss of life. That these events occurred on and around the grounds of one of our nation’s great universities only adds to our dismay and deepens our profound sympathies. We salute the people of Charlottesville and the University of Virginia for their courage and unbroken devotion to community in the face of such hatred, and restate our own steadfast commitments to diversity, inclusion and respect for everyone at Duke.”
Other Duke leaders—including Duke Student Government President Riyanka Ganguly, a senior—spoke against the violence in a statement with student body presidents at other universities.
"As student body presidents across the United States, we are deeply saddened by the events that have occurred in Charlottesville, Virginia," the statement read. "We stand with the students of the University of Virginia, as what affects one of our campuses affects us all."
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