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Stopping the Leak with More Water
10/23/2003

Anti-Semitism has poked through the academic veil at the University of Rhode Island. President Robert Carothers's letter is stingy with the details, but generous with the irony:

Last week, one of our students returned from a weekend at home to find the door to her room defaced by anti-Semitic symbols and slogans. As shocking and sad as that discovery was, the fact that these acts were allegedly perpetrated by people she believed were friends was even more disturbing.

Coming just two weeks after the university held a very successful "Diversity Week" on the Kingston campus, it is painfully clear that we continue to have individuals among us who harbor bigotry and hatred in their hearts. While we believe strongly in the right to free speech, acting out that bigotry and hatred to the detriment of others is contrary to established university policy and our values as a community.

I'll keep an eye out for more information, but I'd say the odds are significantly better than even that the dogma and ethic of diversity are to be found among the causes of the incident (which is to say that white supremacists have been losing share in the anti-Semitism market). If the culprits prove to have also been lovers of "diversity" (in the American university sense), then the student paper's editorial board will have to add new layers of confused cliché to its already muddled stance.

We as a community should come together to discuss the incident and share our thoughts and feelings about what was done. This could be an opportunity to bring ignorant thought into the light of open discourse, and hopefully show those responsible, and others of the same mindset, the consequences of their spineless acts.

Those responsible for the anti-Semitic messages on the board do not deserve to be at a university, which are generally bastions of open-mindedness. But to simply expel them from the school and cast them out of sight would do little to alleviate the problem of hateful thought, speech and anti-Semitism.

As a university, we must do everything in our power to inform students about other religions and cultures. This situation highlights the importance of things like Diversity Week, organizations like Hillel and places like the Multicultural Center. The entire university must embrace the idea of diversity and the goals behind it.

Under no circumstances are actions like these acceptable or tolerable. But no matter how disgustingly insensitive words are, hate speech is protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. In order to maintain an open democracy, speech cannot be restricted.

The axis of clarity that could straighten out this thinking is to insist that our investigation into each other's culture and beliefs must be honest, and we must realize that it is simply not possible to understand and accept — or even tolerate — every facet of them. Moreover, "the consequences of... spineless acts" must cease to consist of just more talk and "coming together."

As a matter of fact, I myself can only honestly claim a cursory understanding of Judaism, and I don't believe one must have more than that to treat those who follow it like fellow human beings. When hatred exists for reasons other than plain misunderstanding, further understanding will only melt into new forms that fit the hatred.

Posted by Justin Katz @ 12:21 PM EST

1 Comment

Coming just two weeks after the university held a very successful "Diversity Week" on the Kingston campus, it is painfully clear that we continue to have individuals among us who harbor bigotry and hatred in their hearts. I'm left wondering why, even on his terms, he calls it "successful".

ELC @ 10/23/2003 08:59 PM EST