On Monday, Jan. 19, Elizabethtown College President Carl J. Strikwerda and members of the Student Senate held a campus community climate forum to discuss the College’s attitude towards current issues and how it can best handle and recognize them. The forum was a part of the MLK Celebration Week.
Strikwerda began the meeting by pointing out that Etown students are not immune to the effects of the current social issues prevalent around the country. “We’re at a point in American history where I’m reminded that some of the most challenging issues Martin Luther King Jr. faced in a profound way are still relevant today,” he said. Students are constantly reminded that the goal of getting an Etown education is to learn how to live as citizens, not just employees. “I think a college has an opportunity to set an example for the rest of society,” Strikwerda said. Openness to differing opinions and actions — despite how popular or unpopular they may be — is crucial for students to be exposed to in order to graduate ready to participate in any communities they may be a part of.
The forum identified the intimidation that comes along with sharing and recognizing such opinions. “It can be difficult to have people talk about issues where there are strongly opposed views,” Strikwerda said. Etown values mutual respect and aims to discourage “demonizing or silencing other people’s views,” said Strikwerda. “Clearly the tone of the campus has to be one where there is an emphasis on unity based on mutual respect.”
Students make a huge difference on this front because they are exposed to more circumstances in which respect is necessary through living in the residence halls, eating in the marketplace and attending classes. Strikwerda expressed the responsibility students have to respect boundaries while maintaining a common goal.
“It is, in a sense, your campus,” he said, pointing out that the student body is the largest group on campus. He recommends that students question whether or not their peers, staff members and faculty members are acting as they should be. Etown has taken initiative recently to educate every member of the Etown campus and become a more sensitive and aware community that values human respect, justice and inclusion. “I’m pleased with the progress we have made,” Strikwerda said.
Attendees were encouraged to share their opinions and ask questions. The campus’ humility and unity and how that may result in a lack of clear avenues to go through to present strong, dissenting opinions was the first topic addressed. “[Etown is] wonderful… but homogeneous,” Strikwerda said. He is glad for the lack of organized social cliques like Greek life on campus because he feels students truly believe everyone belongs, sometimes so much so that students are often surprised when their views are criticized. Etown’s commitment to bond service and education ideally helps students live as citizens and “question what’s going on around here,” Strikwerda said. “We’re as good as we are because people have asked questions in the past.”
Though Etown has faced criticism in the past for how they handled bias issues, steps have been taken since then to make sure that changes are being made at the micro-level, including at new student orientation and in dorms, to guarantee that students understand that they should speak up if they come across impolite, uncivil behavior. Also addressed severely was the issue of sexual assault. Strikwerda reminded attendees “there has been, justly and appropriately, a new move to open up” the sharing, investigation and elimination processes of such issues. “We do investigate everything now, and that’s the way I think it should be,” he said.
Provost Dr. Susan Traverso noted that the Plan for Inclusive Excellence, a “very ambitious plan” implemented over the past five years, has done much to offer “more opportunities for students to engage in issues of diversity of all types” and model the institution’s commitment to social justice.
