We stand in solidarity and mourning with our students and their families who are part of the communities most affected by this tragedy. The deeply-entrenched problems of white supremacy, anti-blackness, and state violence are at the core of what happened while police detained #GeorgeFloyd this week.

We know that these same structural problems affect students who are at the core of our mission. We know that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” and when our students are affected, so is our entire community. We know that our students will be part of the solution for dramatically shifting the world to a more equitable place.

Our mission, opening access to debate as an activity and learning tool, is fundamentally about two things: effective problem solving, and shifting power by strengthening new and powerful voices that have been unheard.

There can be no progress without collective work – and we are committed to supporting our students as critical thinkers and effective advocates who use their voices to shift power and demand solutions to the problems we must solve.