The below message was sent to faculty, staff, and students on January 23, 2026.
Dear Bryn Mawr Community,
I write with a reflection about the vandalism incidents at last year’s reunion, the ensuing investigation into this and other vandalism related matters, and associated questions of safety and protest. I hope that doing so will provide some clarity.
College presidents – like leaders in many settings – make decisions in real time, often with imperfect information. While our efforts to investigate incidents and hold accountable those involved are common in higher education, the questions raised about them underscore that they were jarring to some as news spread through the community. I recognize that. Staff and administrators have been available to meet with and answer questions from students and other community members, while respecting individual privacy.
I also saw the shock and sense of threat many felt at the acts of vandalism and property damage on campus. The actions I took reflected my responsibility to protect our community and campus, and to ensure that basic functions such as Admitted Students' Day and Reunion take place safely and not be disrupted by actions that violate Bryn Mawr's values and the law. To address lingering questions: the investigation is not ongoing, and the College considers the matter closed.
As we navigate emergent issues, I remain committed to doing so while keeping everyone's safety our paramount responsibility and North Star.
Additionally, I recognize that ours is a community that can be wary of traditional campus safety practices, including security cameras. While some experience cameras as tools of surveillance, others experience them as tools of protection. Our Executive Director of Campus Safety, Lil Burroughs, has shared with several campus groups the importance of her team having the basic tools – including cameras and more regular drills and preparatory exercises – as on similar campuses. This is not to watch or surveil but to protect and prepare. A small number of individuals are authorized to access footage from these cameras, and only in specific circumstances, such as when there is injury to people or in rare instances of significant property damage. The horrific events at Brown University sadly speak again to this need. Lil and her team are happy to meet with any campus group interested in conversation about these topics.
Ours is an intentional, distinctive, and beloved community. We value participatory processes, open communications, the expectations and responsibilities of speech and protest, and the importance of campus culture. Honoring these values is especially important and especially challenging in this period in American history. I hear and understand the concerns some have voiced about the current protest guidelines, which were drafted and reviewed by the senior staff in consultation with legal and policy experts in higher education. Students and faculty interested in proposing specific changes to the guidelines are welcome to do so through our established student and faculty governance processes.
I am deeply committed to protecting the College — foremost its people — in these challenging societal and political moments. I am mindful of the depth of love and commitment to this place and look forward to continued conversations among students, faculty, alumnae/i, and staff that enable us to learn deeply and move boldly forward together.
Wendy Cadge
President and Professor of Sociology
Bryn Mawr College
101 N. Merion Ave., Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
Pronouns: she/her
brynmawr.edu
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