We, as a community of students and faculty in the Classics Program of the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, firmly believe that the study of Greek and Latin language, literature, history, and culture should be open to all. We have an obligation to share the benefits of critical engagement with these civilizations with the widest possible audience — both within academia and in the public sphere. 

We emphasize that we, as scholars of Classical Studies, are not engaged in uncritical adulation of Greece and Rome as the foundation of Western Civilization. Indeed, our work must interrogate the presentation and mobilization of the classical past in the present, for both positive and negative ends. The dialogue is ongoing:  we acknowledge the historic complicity of our field and others in perpetuating exclusionary and elitist ideologies, and we condemn attempts to claim Classical Studies as support for racist, misogynistic, or chauvinistic attitudes of any kind. 

In light of ongoing racism, white supremacy, and other forms of discriminatory behavior, as well as incidents within the profession of Classical Studies, the Classics Program of LLC pledges to accelerate its efforts to create a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community both within the profession and beyond. We endorse an approach to Greece and Rome that acknowledges its interconnectedness with a variety of cultures from the Mediterranean, Middle East, Africa, and beyond, and consider the explorations of those connections across time and space as central to our mission.