We, Lindenwood University’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force are charged with promoting the well-being, safety and security of a diverse academic community in which teaching, learning, and the exchange of ideas can flourish, and where we encounter, encourage, and interrogate ideas that challenge settled notions of truth.
We note that Charles Murray, Emeritus Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, has been invited along with another speaker, Dr. Robert H. Frank, to lecture as part of the new Harry Langenberg Speaker Series at the Hammond Institute on May 8, 2018. The event’s pre-publication material indicates that Murray will be discussing “Culture and Opportunity in America.” We write to register our disapprobation with this
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Although his writings appear to maintain a rhetorical veneer of science, Murray is largely regarded in and outside of academic circles as a rank apologist for racial eugenics and racial inequality in the United States. Murray, of course, is free to publicize his ideas, but we feel it is our duty to object when he does so by disregarding widely-held norms of sound scholarship and intellectual integrity. We are happy to provide a more detailed background on Murray’s writings, if need …show more content…
As a university located in proximity to where the Ferguson incident occurred we are already under scrutiny concerning our race relations simply by dint of geography, and even though these are seemingly unconnected matters, bringing who in fact influenced the current white supremacist ideologies flourishing in this country to speak at a university just down the road from where Michael Brown's death caused a national debate over what lives actually matter, suggests that university's political alignment whether it is intentionally so or not. So, if this talk does proceed without comment, disingenuously presented under the blanket of "both sides" or "freedom of speech" then the message that sends is, "we do not disagree with this man's politics and are allowing him to speak at our university knowing the current political climate." That message can and will translate to "we do not value diverse communities as much as we value this speaker’s right to share and discuss white supremacist ideas on our campus." Resulting as it does from a single Institute on campus’s choice of speaker, yet, the talk thus threatens to negatively impact the entire Lindenwood
In a world that is becoming increasingly dynamic and interconnected where each of us are becoming more dependent on each other, diversity is a crucial element of life. Never in human history have students had available to them the
Thirdly, they point out that a diverse student body better prepares college students to interact and work with individuals of diverse backgrounds in the future. By creating an environment where students can be exposed to a racially diverse group of people, their interactions further reduce prejudice and misconceptions about race (Grutter v. Bollinger, 2003). The amicus brief reveals that race is an inseparable component of an applicant 's’ experiences and should not be excluded from the admission officers’ consideration.
Dr. Cephas Archie is the Diversity & Inclusion Program Coordinator for Houston Community College (HCC), where he assists in the implementation of the colleges 7 + campus Diversity & Inclusion Plan. Collaboratively working with all institutional stakeholders – both internal and external, Dr. Archie spearheads the institution’s diversity and inclusion efforts for the near 81,000 students, faculty and staff. As an employee of the Office of Institutional Equity at HCC, his efforts are accompanied by the college’s Diversity & Inclusion Council.
On January 13th, 2017, Chancellor Ralph Hexter of UC Davis emailed students in response to Martin Shkreli and Milo Yiannopoulos not being allowed speak at a campus event due to heated protests. The controversial Yiannopoulos is a open critic of many social justice movements, like feminism and Black Lives Matter. He’s specifically said during his events at his tour that muslims are rapists, publically yelled at a muslim for wearing a hijab, and promotes Blue Lives Matter. ('I Just Want to Burn It down') Additionally, Shkreli is a businessman who is now a convicted felon. So in response, many students were outraged and deeply upset by this organized event. In the email the Chancellor quoted the ACLU, explaining that we “can organize effectively to counter bad attitudes, possibly change them, and forge solidarity against the forces of intolerance.” However this will cause violence and make many feel patronized by the words spurred out by public speakers, like Yiannopoulos and Shrekli. Even though inviting people of different views seems like unifying people from all backgrounds, when people are content with their hatred and speak them out openly, it causes more complication. The opposite side wants to cover their ears and find the nearest exit. To be realistic, any young student won’t be welcoming with open arms to close minded speakers, especially if it seems as the main thing they desire is to get a rise out of you. The most efficient way to unify people is being respectful
Having served in higher education the past three years, I have grown in my appreciation for the complexities of colleges and universities. Specifically, I am fascinated by how institutions value diversity within their student population and among their employees. Over the past two years colleges and universities have had to confront their racist past to understand their student population. Christian higher education has not been immune to this soul searching. Christian institutions must recognize diversity as a biblical and institutional imperative to embrace institutional inclusive excellence. Diversity needs to be embraced for institutions to survive in a pluralistic and changing society. As higher education faces a tumultuous future, there is a heightened need for diverse administrators who can navigate and effectively lead institutions towards inclusive excellence.
According to Edwin Black, eugenics is “the effort to create a white, blue-eyed, blond-haired, Nordic master race in the United States, and wipe away the existence of everyone who did not fit that ideal”. Black goes further by explaining the implementation of this ideal, saying “Now who did they want to wipe away? They wanted to wipe away Mexicans, Italians. They wanted to wipe away the Asians the Jews, those who they believed were feeble minded, the Deaf, the poor.”
Affirmative action, and race-based admissions standards, are the best way to increase (or maintain) diversity at institutions of higher learning. In spite of its perceived flaws, it has increased the diversity at previously all-white institutions of higher learning, such as the University of Texas at Austin, and that diversity has allowed friendships to be formed that otherwise would not have been, has allowed students to learn from professors they otherwise would never have and allowed professors to learn from students from a wide variety of
book on this subject called, "Inheriting Shame: the Story of Eugenics & Racism in America." He
In some workplaces in the United States, there appears to be a lack of diversity amongst employees. Although it might not be intentional, an example of this can be seen in college campuses. “While the numbers of undergraduate and graduate students of color on college campuses have risen over the years, the growth in the numbers of faculty of color has lagged far behind” (Antonio, 2003; Villalpando & Delgado Bernal, as cited in Jayakumar, Howard, Allen, and Han, 2009). Having a more diverse faculty and staff would increase the sense of connection among others, as well as decrease the amount of privilege certain groups have over others. Employees would be able to see things from different types of perspectives, rather than one point of view. According to Nancy Cantor, a former college administrative officer in Michigan, "Diversity really is intellectual and social diversity, and that is what interdisciplinarity does.
In terms of the class material, the event likely incites macroaggression that have racist connotations. The speaker is using his right to freedom of speech as an avenue to spew his hateful and racist remarks. He was allowed to hide under the guise of freedom of speech to speak at the UCSB hosted
The word diversity is indispensible in college pamphlets. Pictures of multicultural friendships permeate across each page in hopes of providing a mirrored image for prospective students. These pictures suggest a promised safe place for young adults of all backgrounds. However, in the instance of San Jose State University, one could argue their actions differ from the pictured proposal. Their main focus became avoiding liability rather than facilitating a safe environment for ethnic difference. This mentality typically reflects a view that claims acts of active racism and blatant bigotry should take the forefront of discussion while their comprising acts of passive racism are left behind. Campus conversations about race are being silenced
At the beginning of the 20th century, power and prestige was held by the majority of (if not only) White people. African Americans were living under Jim Crow laws, Native Americans were forced into reservations and all of the new immigrants were in crowded ghettos. Those that were a race other than White were at “the bottom of the social and political hierarchy.” One of the aims of the Eugenics Movement was racial purification. Using the concept of Mendelian genes, scientists would try to breed the best, smartest, most talented, most beautiful and always white individuals and breed out the worst and weakest colored individuals. Mixed race people were seen as not put together because it was a combination of the best and worst traits someone could have.” Frederick Hoffman, presented data, statistics and a theory that claimed African Americans would become extinct because of high death and disease rates that were caused by African Americans being biologically lesser than Whites. However, his analysis was flawed because it failed to mention how systematic poverty and social neglect could be affecting the health of African Americans.
Van Dijk writes, “This book may be seen as the ideological foundation of a conservative programme of race relations in the USA” (CS 335). Van Dijk points out that D’Souza is affiliated with the American Enterprise Institute, an extreme right-wing think tank and writes, “We may conclude that his book does not merely express a personal opinion, but also has a powerful institutional backing. Contemporary ideologies are often produced and reproduced by such ideological institutions” (335). It is not difficult to apply Althusser’s concepts of ideological activity to D’Souza, the American Enterprise Institute, and their political and financial power in a system that already situates people of color in a disadvantageous socio economic position yet privileges wealthy white men. D’Souza is not White, his parents emigrated from India when he was a child, yet he supports and reaffirms the privileges of the dominant culture through ideologies like this. This way, he becomes White adjacent, enjoying many, but maybe not all of the privileges of the dominant
As a leader focused on diversity and social justice awareness at school, I seek to build a better diverse campus. I have been a leader in various regards, especially at Holy Cross, where I am a Multicultural Peer Educator. Through this role I engage with students, faculty, and administration in creating an inclusive community at Holy
It wasn’t until my tenure as a graduate assistant in the Multicultural Center that I realized my life purpose was a career in student affairs. The uniqueness of working in diversity/multicultural field is that it embodies all the theories covered in our semester readings. Watching the personal growth of the students I encountered daily, affirm that though academics is important the student’s experiences