"I urge you to place people over politics."

Dear Dr. Taylor,

My name is Carlson, and I am (twice) an alumna of Samford University. I am writing to express my outrage regarding the current direction of Samford in relation to religious freedom.

I received an excellent education from Samford—one that I have defended to this day. In addition to graduating summa cum laude with an University Fellows Honors diploma and with a M.S.E. in education, I was able to study English and biology, study abroad in London, be involved in a sorority, and, as a graduate student, work as a recruiter for the honors college for two years. I am currently a doctoral candidate studying Educational Research at The University of Alabama, and I credit a great deal of my academic and professional success to the professors at Samford who supported my development as a student, scholar and teacher.

However, I am running out of reasons to defend Samford.

I am, frankly, embarrassed.

Over the past couple of years, it has become increasingly obvious that the sort of education I received at Samford is no longer on offer. I do not fault the professors; I am sure that they continue to endeavor to inform their students, support critical thinking, advocate for tolerance, and teach with a reflective eye towards the past and a speculative one towards a more just future.

But, we alumni hear ‘rumors.’ We know that a mandatory statement of faith was considered. We know that not all faculty members are still welcome. We see who is invited to speak to campus, and we hear of those who are banned. We need you to know that we aren’t unaware. We need you to know that our support is not unconditional.

I urge you to reconsider your policies. I urge you to place people over politics. I urge you to hear in this and the many other letters you have received and will receive, a heart-felt desire, an ache, for our Alma Mater, and for all those who have called and will call her home. I cannot in good faith support an institution that works to subvert, to harm, its community. Because this is precisely what these policies do: harm students, teachers and administrators, the larger Samford community, and beyond.

With hope that we will truly be ‘for God, for learning’ and for each other,

Carlson Coogler

Class of 2013 & 2017