[Vision2020] UI and WSU statements on slavery issue
bill london
london@moscow.com
Thu, 13 Nov 2003 15:55:35 -0800
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
--------------000108040007000607000402
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Both the UI and WSU Presidents issued statements about the slavery issue
and the use of UI facilities for a conference sponsored by an
organization supporting slavery. Both are reprinted below. BL
--
WSU website address for this statement:
http://www.wsu.edu/president/11-12-letter-from-president.html
November 12, 2003
President V. Lane Rawlins
Speaks Out for Diversity:
An Open Letter to the University Community
Last week I received several letters and e-mails concerning a proposed
conference in Moscow, Idaho, that may include a defense of slavery as a
major topic of discussion. I appreciate the information provided to me
and I have asked members of our administration to look into the
situation, discourage such presentations, and make our opposition known.
Washington State University's leaders, including central administration
and our regents, are deeply concerned about the social and racial
climate for our students on our own campus and in our regional area.
It is important you know that the planned conference to be held in
February 2004 in rented space on the University of Idaho campus in
Moscow has nothing to do with Washington State University or the Pullman
community and we knew nothing about it until the recent responses came
to us. The best information we can obtain is that the conference is
being arranged by a private organization based in Moscow, Idaho. The
University of Idaho is not a sponsor and is not presenting this conference
I expect that there is much provocative and fallacious material
associated with this conference. Members of my staff have informed us
about a booklet that defends slavery as a social institution. I want you
to know that those views and others sympathetic to them are
intellectually and morally reprehensible and unacceptable to me and to
the leadership of WSU. Such views have no place here and I believe that
all reasonable people will reject such malicious nonsense. In fact, you
may have seen the follow-up article in the Daily News on the weekend of
Nov. 8-9 where historians from the University of Idaho, the University
of Maryland and Duke University exposed the booklet for what it is,
self-published propaganda disguised as history.
As you know, diversity is an important value at WSU and we are working
hard to create an environment where we can all live and work together in
harmony and where we learn more about our different cultures and
beliefs. We are devoting considerable university resources to the
recruitment of a more diverse faculty and student body as well as
facilities and support, such as those in the new space for the
multicultural centers. We also sponsor a number of major programs to
educate our community on issues of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual
orientation, and religion. However, I am aware that there remains much
to do and that the ugly heads of racism and intolerance can still be
seen here. We have several opportunities in the next few months to
reaffirm our commitment to our core values, which include greater
diversity on this campus and the creation of a safe and open environment
that is welcoming for women and men of all races, ethnicities,
religions, and sexual orientations. I invite the entire community to
help us prepare a program for Black History Month that will help call
the attention of our university community to these important issues.
We will do all that is in our legal power to discourage this conference
in Idaho but, if it goes forward, I will request that our faculty and
students develop a program to occur at the same time that will present a
more truthful interpretation of slavery and our nation's racial history.
I believe that the best way to combat propaganda is with presentations
that are factual and truthful. Perhaps we can use this as a clarion call
to all of us, as well as a reminder that there are still those among us
who do not share our values. Through such activities, I hope we can
involve more people across our campus in Black History Month and, as a
university, use this time to strengthen our university commitment to
diversity, cultural awareness, and a safe and open environment. We have
opened dialog contact with the leadership of the University of Idaho,
indicating our concerns about the planned conference. They too have
serious concerns, and I believe we can develop some joint programming in
direct contrast and opposition to any expressions such as those in the
booklet mentioned above.
If you wish to follow up with officials in Idaho, I suggest that you
contact the Latah County Human Rights Task Force through its founder,
Joann Muneta, about your concerns regarding the speakers for this
conference. We are consulting directly with the Pullman Human Rights
Commission as well.
I am grateful to those who brought this conference to my attention. I
ask everyone in the university community to work towards using this
event to strengthen our opposition and speak out openly for the values
we have adopted. We must come to realize that apathy is dangerous
whenever there is active opposition.
V. Lane Rawlins
President
--
UI website address for this statement:
http://www.today.uidaho.edu/details.asp?id=2393&sctn=news
DIVERSITY STATEMENT FROM UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO ADMINISTRATION
November 13, 2003
By Gary Michael and Brian Pitcher
"The University of Idaho regards bigotry of any sort as intellectually
abhorrent and morally reprehensible; it values the benefits of cultural
diversity and pledges to students, prospective students, and the public
that it will defend pluralism in the academic community; and warmly
welcomes all men and women of good will without regard to their race,
religion or ethnic background."
The University of Idaho reaffirmed those words and their inclusion in
the Faculty/Staff Handbook more than 15 years ago. They are clear,
strong words that reflect the essence of an institution of higher
learning. In light of the recent debate in Moscow concerning the nature
of slavery in the American South before the Civil War, it is important
to once again assert these words and the University of Idaho's
unwavering commitment to human rights, diversity and academic integrity.
UI policies specifically prohibit discrimination and harassment on the
basis of age, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, gender, religion,
disabilities, sexual orientation and veteran status. The UI continues to
strive to create an inclusive, welcoming environment. Everyone must be
free to live, work and study with respect and dignity and have the
opportunity to realize their goals. We stand in solidarity with those
who have been offended by recent events.
Any attempt to minimize, rationalize or recast the evils of slavery runs
counter to the stated values of our institution. In addition, such views
are contrary to the weight of established historical evidence and
demonstrate a lack of academic integrity. When that pseudo-scholarship
is distributed under the guise of an academic booklet, it is a chilling
and disturbing reminder of our challenges on the fronts of diversity and
human rights.
Some have suggested the university ban organizations that tolerate or
appear to support such beliefs from meeting on campus. As tempting as
that may be in this case, we must resist tampering with the First
Amendment rights of all in hopes of squelching ideas with which we
disagree. The University of Idaho has a long tradition of robust and
vibrant debate on public issues. It is important to allow unpopular
views to be heard, regardless of how controversial, distasteful or
repugnant they are. To that end, the UI makes available non-academic
space in the Student Union Building and Commons for rental by a wide
variety of community groups with no review of the content of the
presentations. This is consistent with U.S. Supreme Court decisions
regarding equal access to facilities at public universities.
Our commitment to freedom of speech leads us to believe that the best
way to counter views that run contrary to the university's principles is
by providing a forum for a thorough discussion. In the marketplace of
ideas, we are convinced that the truth will prevail. Already, there has
been considerable discussion about diversity and human rights on campus,
which is a positive development. We have faith that the process of open
inquiry and responsible historical scholarship will illustrate the true
nature of slavery and the challenges we still face as a society.
On Martin Luther King - Idaho Human Rights Day in January, the
university and the larger community will launch a six-week program of
lectures, read-ins, teach-ins, films and other activities culminating
with the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival, to celebrate Black History month
and to highlight our ongoing pursuit of diversity and human rights.
Please join us and add your voice to those who appreciate the richness
cultural diversity adds to our community.
Gary Michael is the interim president of the University of Idaho. Brian
Pitcher is UI's provost
--------------000108040007000607000402
Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=ISO-8859-1">
<title></title>
</head>
<body text="#000000" bgcolor="#ffffff">
<div align="left"><b>Both the UI and WSU Presidents issued statements
about the slavery issue and the use of UI facilities for a conference
sponsored by an organization supporting slavery. Both are reprinted
below. BL<br>
--<br>
WSU website address for this statement:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.wsu.edu/president/11-12-letter-from-president.html">http://www.wsu.edu/president/11-12-letter-from-president.html</a><br>
<br>
</b>November 12, 2003
<br>
President V. Lane Rawlins
<br>
Speaks Out for Diversity:
<br>
An Open Letter to the University Community
<br>
Last week I received several letters and e-mails concerning a proposed
conference in Moscow, Idaho, that may include a defense of slavery as a
major topic of discussion. I appreciate the information provided to me
and I have asked members of our administration to look into the
situation, discourage such presentations, and make our opposition
known. Washington State University's leaders, including central
administration and our regents, are deeply concerned about the social
and racial climate for our students on our own campus and in our
regional area.
<br>
It is important you know that the planned conference to be held in
February 2004 in rented space on the University of Idaho campus in
Moscow has nothing to do with Washington State University or the
Pullman community and we knew nothing about it until the recent
responses came to us. The best information we can obtain is that the
conference is being arranged by a private organization based in Moscow,
Idaho. The University of Idaho is not a sponsor and is not presenting
this conference
<br>
I expect that there is much provocative and fallacious material
associated with this conference. Members of my staff have informed us
about a booklet that defends slavery as a social institution. I want
you to know that those views and others sympathetic to them are
intellectually and morally reprehensible and unacceptable to me and to
the leadership of WSU. Such views have no place here and I believe that
all reasonable people will reject such malicious nonsense. In fact, you
may have seen the follow-up article in the Daily News on the weekend of
Nov. 8-9 where historians from the University of Idaho, the University
of Maryland and Duke University exposed the booklet for what it is,
self-published propaganda disguised as history.
<br>
As you know, diversity is an important value at WSU and we are working
hard to create an environment where we can all live and work together
in harmony and where we learn more about our different cultures and
beliefs. We are devoting considerable university resources to the
recruitment of a more diverse faculty and student body as well as
facilities and support, such as those in the new space for the
multicultural centers. We also sponsor a number of major programs to
educate our community on issues of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual
orientation, and religion. However, I am aware that there remains much
to do and that the ugly heads of racism and intolerance can still be
seen here. We have several opportunities in the next few months to
reaffirm our commitment to our core values, which include greater
diversity on this campus and the creation of a safe and open
environment that is welcoming for women and men of all races,
ethnicities, religions, and sexual orientations. I invite the entire
community to help us prepare a program for Black History Month that
will help call the attention of our university community to these
important issues.
<br>
We will do all that is in our legal power to discourage this conference
in Idaho but, if it goes forward, I will request that our faculty and
students develop a program to occur at the same time that will present
a more truthful interpretation of slavery and our nation's racial
history. I believe that the best way to combat propaganda is with
presentations that are factual and truthful. Perhaps we can use this as
a clarion call to all of us, as well as a reminder that there are still
those among us who do not share our values. Through such activities, I
hope we can involve more people across our campus in Black History
Month and, as a university, use this time to strengthen our university
commitment to diversity, cultural awareness, and a safe and open
environment. We have opened dialog contact with the leadership of the
University of Idaho, indicating our concerns about the planned
conference. They too have serious concerns, and I believe we can
develop some joint programming in direct contrast and opposition to any
expressions such as those in the booklet mentioned above.
<br>
If you wish to follow up with officials in Idaho, I suggest that you
contact the Latah County Human Rights Task Force through its founder,
Joann Muneta, about your concerns regarding the speakers for this
conference. We are consulting directly with the Pullman Human Rights
Commission as well.
<br>
I am grateful to those who brought this conference to my attention. I
ask everyone in the university community to work towards using this
event to strengthen our opposition and speak out openly for the values
we have adopted. We must come to realize that apathy is dangerous
whenever there is active opposition.
<br>
V. Lane Rawlins
<br>
President
<br>
<b>--<br>
UI website address for this statement:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.today.uidaho.edu/details.asp?id=2393&sctn=news">http://www.today.uidaho.edu/details.asp?id=2393&sctn=news</a><br>
<br>
DIVERSITY STATEMENT FROM UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO ADMINISTRATION</b></div>
November 13, 2003<br>
<br>
By Gary Michael and Brian Pitcher<br>
<br>
“The
University of Idaho regards bigotry of any sort as intellectually
abhorrent and morally reprehensible; it values the benefits of cultural
diversity and pledges to students, prospective students, and the public
that it will defend pluralism in the academic community; and warmly
welcomes all men and women of good will without regard to their race,
religion or ethnic background.”<br>
<br>
The University of Idaho
reaffirmed those words and their inclusion in the Faculty/Staff
Handbook more than 15 years ago. They are clear, strong words that
reflect the essence of an institution of higher learning. In light of
the recent debate in Moscow concerning the nature of slavery in the
American South before the Civil War, it is important to once again
assert these words and the University of Idaho’s unwavering commitment
to human rights, diversity and academic integrity.<br>
<br>
UI policies
specifically prohibit discrimination and harassment on the basis of
age, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, gender, religion,
disabilities, sexual orientation and veteran status. The UI continues
to strive to create an inclusive, welcoming environment. Everyone must
be free to live, work and study with respect and dignity and have the
opportunity to realize their goals. We stand in solidarity with those
who have been offended by recent events.<br>
<br>
Any attempt to
minimize, rationalize or recast the evils of slavery runs counter to
the stated values of our institution. In addition, such views are
contrary to the weight of established historical evidence and
demonstrate a lack of academic integrity. When that pseudo-scholarship
is distributed under the guise of an academic booklet, it is a chilling
and disturbing reminder of our challenges on the fronts of diversity
and human rights. <br>
<br>
Some have suggested the university ban
organizations that tolerate or appear to support such beliefs from
meeting on campus. As tempting as that may be in this case, we must
resist tampering with the First Amendment rights of all in hopes of
squelching ideas with which we disagree. The University of Idaho has a
long tradition of robust and vibrant debate on public issues. It is
important to allow unpopular views to be heard, regardless of how
controversial, distasteful or repugnant they are. To that end, the UI
makes available non-academic space in the Student Union Building and
Commons for rental by a wide variety of community groups with no review
of the content of the presentations. This is consistent with U.S.
Supreme Court decisions regarding equal access to facilities at public
universities.<br>
<br>
Our commitment to freedom of speech leads us to
believe that the best way to counter views that run contrary to the
university’s principles is by providing a forum for a thorough
discussion. In the marketplace of ideas, we are convinced that the
truth will prevail. Already, there has been considerable discussion
about diversity and human rights on campus, which is a positive
development. We have faith that the process of open inquiry and
responsible historical scholarship will illustrate the true nature of
slavery and the challenges we still face as a society.<br>
<br>
On Martin
Luther King – Idaho Human Rights Day in January, the university and the
larger community will launch a six-week program of lectures, read-ins,
teach-ins, films and other activities culminating with the Lionel
Hampton Jazz Festival, to celebrate Black History month and to
highlight our ongoing pursuit of diversity and human rights. Please
join us and add your voice to those who appreciate the richness
cultural diversity adds to our community. <br>
<br>
<i>Gary Michael is the interim president of the University of Idaho.
Brian Pitcher is UI’s provost</i>
</body>
</html>
--------------000108040007000607000402--