COLUMN: An open letter to door vandals
Recently a number of faculty office doors across campus were vandalized. The perpetrators were not interested in defacing property or damaging the door surfaces in any way. Their intent was much more pernicious. They specifically targeted doors that were graced with either the Allies on Campus symbol that serves to inform interested students that these particular faculty members have received training in the recently established Allies on Campus Program or the rainbow stickers provided by the Women and Gender Studies Program to faculty who wished to signal their advocacy for an equitable and supportive environment for all students.
The Allies on Campus program, sanctioned by an overwhelmingly favorable vote at the December ’03 Faculty Senate Meeting, provides stickers that identify faculty who have received special training and are “committed to being understanding, supportive and trustworthy if a gay, lesbian or bisexual student needs help, advice, information about university and community resources or just needs someone with whom they can talk about sexual orientation issues openly and constructively,” according to Professor Elizabeth York. Professor York, associate dean of the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, and LuAnn Helms, a psychologist in Utah State’s Counseling Center, were responsible for initiating the program. The Women and Gender Studies Program, in conjunction with the Women and Gender Research Institute and the Women’s Center, works continually to promote a welcoming environment on campus.
What message was being sent by these illegal actions? We can’t help but interpret the message as follows: “We don’t want to welcome everyone here at Utah State University. We are uncomfortable with certain kinds of difference. We are upset with anyone who wants to create an inviting community for those we deem unfit to be among us. Furthermore, we don’t want anyone else to offer even a listening ear to people who express opinions outside the mainstream.” Not a very pleasant perspective. But what may be even more troubling is that these vandals did not raise their concerns with any level of maturity or integrity. We welcome open conversations about these issues. We think such dialogue is central to a university community. We recognize that there are deep political and philosophical differences among those of us who work and study at Utah State University. This is the goodness of life in a university setting. How will we prepare ourselves to work in a global society and to move out from this community to serve others if we cannot promote and sustain an environment of acceptance here? To express one’s displeasure with the views or actions of another by violating their freedom of expression and resorting to illegal behavior is reprehensible.
A considerable group of us has been affected by these illegal actions (Andrea Tinnemeyer, department of English; Anne Shifrer, co-director of Women and Gender Studies; Artemis Preeshl, theater arts department; Fawn Groves, Multicultural Student Services; Grace Huerta, secondary education; Jennifer Sinor, department of English; Kelli Cargile Cook, department of English; Martha Dever, elementary education; Melanie Domenech-Rodriguez, department of psychology; Pat Gantt, department of English, co-director of Women and Gender Studies; Peggy Petrzelka, department of sociology, social work and anthropology; Renate Posthofen, department of languages and philosophy; Sherry Marx, secondary education; Sonia Manuel-Dupont, department of communication disorders and deaf education; Susan Mannon, department of sociology, social work and anthropology; Ted Pease, department head, department of journalism and communication; Terry Peak, department of sociology, social work and anthropology; Thomas Pedroni, secondary education; Thorana Nelson, department of family, consumer, and human development; Tricia Gallagher-Geurtsen, elementary education).
We respectfully address those who have, in our view, treated us disrespectfully: Please think deeply about your actions and consider adjusting your behavior. You are contributing to a hostile environment on our campus. We have reported these acts to the University Police. We do hope that you will have the courage and integrity to knock on our doors and engage us in civil conversation. You see, the stickers mean we welcome all students to dialogue with us about these important issues, not just those who struggle against marginalization and bigotry. Martha Whitaker, elementary education, and 20 others