The practice of a university president, dean, or other university leader issuing a statement in response to a high-profile current event, policy, or phenomenon is business as usual for higher education. Recently, university leaders have received perhaps an unprecedented amount of scrutiny and consequences for statements in response to external events. Statements can be usefully understood as symbols, powerful yet inherently limited, so the risks of sending out statements are high, especially for equity-oriented leaders. Equity-oriented leaders might avoid sending out empty, symbolic statements if they engage in structured reflection. This article offers four questions that university leaders should consider before issuing a statement in response to an external event.