Mahalo to those who have shared your concerns with me regarding last Thursday's event involving a group which appeared at the UH Mānoa Campus Center.
Our campus community prides itself on the principles of being respectful to each other and supportive of our diversity. Clearly, not all groups share those principles. I assure you that I totally disagree with the message of this group and also how they delivered it; however, our university needs to think carefully about how we interact with and respond to those with views markedly different from our own.
In this situation, the group did obtain a permit for their event under an individual's name from the Campus Center, as required for any outside or campus group (there is no charge for using the Center forum for such events). The forum is designated as our campus free speech zone where groups and individuals are free to express their views, which will range from informative and enlightening to controversial, absurd and even offensive - and where members of our campus community are free to listen, debate or ignore them. This freedom is not total - Campus Center policies require that users adhere to our laws and campus regulations and that adherence should be routinely reviewed for groups seeking permits.
I believe that an important role of any university is to allow and even promote opportunities for controversial topics to be discussed, because we are, first and foremost, an educational institution. It is truly more comfortable to be exposed only to those with whom we agree and those who adhere to the high behavior standards our campus demands for its members; however, that sheltered experience does not prepare our students for the reality that exists in the world. Normal social interaction often involves dealing with a wide range of people who may hold opinions and principles different from our own - and we need to learn to communicate with them in a respectful manner. In that way, we reflect the high standards we want them to have.
So what can we learn from those who verbally attack members of our community based on their race, gender, sexual orientation or whatever bias the group embraces? We should recognize that such bias faces many people each and every day, thereby increasing our sensitivity to that reality. Words do hurt and those being targeted need and deserve our support during controversial times like this.
How do we handle such situations that challenge us in this way? The goal of such groups is often incitement of campus members for the purpose of gaining attention - and that is sadly most often done by attacking individuals in an offensive manner. We must be strong and maintain the high standards of behavior we support - "respect for all." The reason our security personnel are present is to ensure the safety of our campus community; they are not there to inhibit the exchanges because that could well escalate the situation.
Mahalo to Ka Leo for allowing me this forum. I hope that readers will forward any comments or recommendations to me at: vhinshaw@hawaii.edu. Again, although such events are not reflective of our campus principles, this university does have the responsibility to support the right of people to voice their views.
Mahalo,
Virginia S. Hinshaw Chancellor, UH Mānoa
Be the first to comment on this article!