Archive for December, 2007

Thanks for the Feedback and Happy New Year

Published by Glyn Hughes on December 20, 2007 in Common Ground. 0 Comments

We hoped that our site would allow UR community members to air their thoughts about complex issues related to diversity, inclusion, and in this case, free speech, and we certainly haven’t been disappointed. While there have been nearly forty posts so far, the blog has received almost 1900 page views since the previous discussion began last week, and close to 5000 page views since we launched the blog in October. Clearly, our community wants to talk, read, and think about these issues, and we hope this space continues to provide that opportunity.In the spirit of that dialogue we want to respond to some of your concerns from the previous discussion.

First, we agree that there were a number of topics in The Collegian’s Rants and Raves section that pushed the envelope of good taste for a community seeking to be inclusive. And we tried to indicate that in our original post. To us, the comment about Jews warranted special attention because of its insensitivity to historic and present-day anti-Semitism and because it appeared during Hanukkah. Our office also received many complaints about this particular comment, so we scratched a previously written post in favor of seeing how others in the community felt about the issue.

Second, we apologize for not explaining why we included a link to the article about defending Jewish homes in Montana, and we regret any suggestion that we equated the statement in The Collegian with throwing rocks through someone’s window. Rather, our thinking was that the events in Montana would illustrate 1) the power of an inspired community response to prejudice and 2) that the challenges faced by the Jewish community persist.

We wish you all a smooth semester’s end and restful break, thank you for your continued interest and participation, and look forward to seeing you next year!

Glyn Hughes and Lisa Miles, Office of Common Ground

Religion, Free Speech, and Tolerance: What’s your response?

Published by Glyn Hughes on December 11, 2007 in The Collegian, Bias Incidents and Religion. 12 Comments

Last Thursday’s Collegian included a comment in the “Rants and Raves” section that
first referenced the University’s offering of kosher meals for Passover, asserted
the tardiness of the University in displaying its Christmas decorations, and
concluded with this thought: “It was starting to look like the Jews were taking
over.”

Now, we realize that the whole point of the “Rants and Raves” section–mimicking radio shock jocks–is to provoke readers by flirting with taboo subjects. (In the same piece, women are dogs and gargoyles, blacks are “gangsta,” and international students are ignorant and annoying.)

And we also understand that newspapers ought to be free to publish unpopular ideas, even if they are racist, sexist, or anti-Semitic.

The bigger test, though, is how we respond to those ideas as members of the UR
community. So here is our discussion question for you: In light of the holiday season and this example of anti-Semitism in particular, what do we need to say to one another to ensure that we progress toward real inclusion here at UR?

As always, we invite your comments.

If you would like to read about one Montana town’s response when the homes of Jews were vandalized during Hanukkah in 1993, click here.

Glyn Hughes and Lisa Miles, Office of Common Ground