A Letter from President Barbara Snyder to the CWRU Community on 23 October 2014

To the Case Western Reserve Community:



I write today to ask that you join me in condemning social media comments made last night about some of our students. At about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, members of the #webelonghere

movement gathered outside the North Residential Village to participate in a National Day of Protest against police brutality. Soon after, a post appeared comparing the group to primates. Another post, meanwhile, expressed the desire that police officers physically assault the demonstrators.



These comments run counter to all that we stand for as an academic institution. In our 2008 strategic plan, Forward Thinking, the Case Western Reserve community included inclusiveness and diversity among our core values. We reaffirmed that commitment in our 2013 strategic plan. Within both documents, we went on to cite characteristics of a campus that upholds these values: civility and the free exchange of ideas; civic and international engagement; and appreciation for the distinct perspectives and talents of each individual.



Inclusion and diversity are essential parts of this place of higher learning because it is in our differences that we are most likely to deepen understanding. Debates and dialogue do not inevitably translate to consensus, but they always carry the possibility that participants leave with greater appreciation of other perspectives. Ad hominem attacks, meanwhile, serve only to enrage, insult and injure. They create distance and distrust, harden positions and close minds—all antithetical to who we are as a university, and what we aspire to be.



Some will say that denouncing these statements only draws more attention to the hateful speech, and may even embolden the anonymous authors. Yet history consistently shows that silence can be mistaken for assent—or, at the very least, lead to more unanswered malicious statements. The single best response to ignorant expression is to engage it directly. At Case Western Reserve, our efforts to date involvediversity training

, sustained dialogue

and other presentations and conversations that educate, inform and advance awareness. Since 2008, we have expanded such programs dramatically; still, it is clear that we have much more to do.



I thank those on our campus who have promoted and supported our core values. I encourage those with different perspectives to air their concerns in settings that allow for mutual exchanges. And I ask those who make these mean-spirited anonymous posts to consider how they would feel if the person so demeaned was a parent, sibling or close friend.



I am very sorry that members of our community have been hurt by thoughtless statements they have read online and heard in person. I hope that we can take these challenges as an opportunity to act with greater intention and influence—and that, months from now, we will be able to look back on them as painful, yet ultimately powerful, catalysts for progress.



Sincerely,



Barbara R. Snyder