The University of St. Thomas will cancel all afternoon classes on Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2018, for a campus-wide meeting related to the recent racial incident at 1 p.m. in the field house of the Anderson Athletic and Recreation Center (AARC).

St. Thomas President Julie Sullivan wrote in an email Thursday morning that due to the racial incident that took place last week, she is committed to what she is calling an Action Plan to Combat Racism. This will include short-term and long-term actions beginning with an hour-long meeting in which all students, faculty and staff will be invited to a campus-wide discussion on the racial tensions on the St. Thomas campus.

“The event will be a visible kickoff to our entire university’s commitment to action and is a critical step in boldly addressing systemic racism and hate in our community,” Sullivan wrote. “As the members of our Anti-Racism Coalition have expressed, ‘To be free of racism is not simply an ideal, but an essential right for every dignified human being, and upholding this right is the responsibility of everyone in our community.’”

Sullivan said that faculty and staff will be encouraged to stay for employee education training after the one-hour meeting.

It is rare that classes have been cancelled at St. Thomas for reasons other than inclement weather.