In a classroom packed with people sitting on the windowsills, students, faculty and administrators gathered on Monday to engage in an honest dialogue unpacking the controversy surrounding Chance the Rapper’s performance Saturday night.
This discussion, which has dominated campus debate for the past few weeks, provided a space to voice many issues we face here, from racism and homophobia to censorship and the administration’s role. These concerns were broader than just the presence of Chance the Rapper. They reflected building frustration on a myriad of events that have occurred since the beginning of the school year and throughout people’s time at Middlebury.
For the dozen Campus editors who attended the forum provided an opportunity to listen and reflect as others spoke of their experiences and concerns that proved invaluable in broadening our understanding of the different social issues at play. Nevertheless, many of the people in the room were the usual crowd, the people who have these conversations time and time again. This trend in such spaces leads students to feel like they are trapped in a silo. Their opinions circle around, but never leave a confined space.
A good turnout to this forum still left the majority of voices unheard and ears untouched. This absence shows a need on campus for deeper listening. Part of the value of the liberal arts education, and a point emphasized heavily on Monday, is the need to confront discomfort. Discussions of privilege are particularly challenging, and we must push ourselves to embrace that discomfort and think deeply about what our fellow classmates are saying.
Even within the dialogue, people sometimes failed to truly listen, constantly focusing on their own feelings on the issue without responding to the points of others. Because the tension on these issues has been building for so long, people rushed to assert their ideas without full critical engagement with others. Provocative questions were posed only to be greeted by, “this is unrelated to that point, but…”
A truly productive dialogue necessitates thought and weighted response. We must hear out the opinions of others, for they are deeply routed in their experiences and identities. This is the responsibility not only of the students present at the forum, but also the students who were not able to attend. Though we are unable to do full justice to the diverse range of opinions expressed, some key questions arose that could help open the silo:
- How do we listen to and support students of marginalized identities without placing undue burden on them to represent the minority? How can students in positions of privilege support marginalized students without tokenizing them?
- How do we work towards a community where students of all identities feel safe? How do we support students struggling with multiple marginalized identities who often feel conflicted in discussions like this forum?
- Where can we embrace the intersection of different identities to build a cohesive and inclusive campus?
- What is the difference between our community standards and our standards as individuals?
- Why did this conversation spark when a black male rapper came to campus, while we stay quiet when other speakers or performers whose words threaten members of our community come? Why do we use racially loaded language when describing the debate about Chance and how can we acknowledge and combat this?
- What makes some art free from censorship, even when it includes offensive material, while rap sparks outrage? What role does the social acceptability of certain art forms play in this?
- How does the administration react to controversy on campus? Why was the 9/11 incident so strongly condemned by President Liebowitz while the threatening homophobic note saw delayed action? What is the administration’s role in fostering the proactive dialogue necessary to move the campus forward?
If you don’t know that these questions are being asked, then you are out of touch with the issues that are relevant to our college at the moment. If you don’t care about any of these questions, you don’t care about Middlebury. It is your responsibility as a member of this community to listen deeply and think critically to the voices of others on this campus. It is easy to hear but not listen, letting the words of others flow in one ear and out the other as you think of what to say next. Actively listening to what someone says is hard takes practice.
But this kind of listening is the first step towards building a safe community where people are not afraid to be fully and unabashedly who they are. And while this listening is critical, just listening is not enough. We cannot just pat ourselves on the back for having attended a forum and for planning to attend the next one. We must spur this engagement into action. It is easy to push responsibility for such tasks onto groups like Queers and Allies (Q&A) or the African-American Alliance (AAA), but the majority identities have a duty to respect and protect other members of this community. Do away with the phrase “that’s not my issue” and realize that none of us are truly safe until every marginalized group feels their views are listened to and respected.
We as an editorial board have tried vigorously to make our editorials this year solution-based. Complaining about an issue is no use to our community if we can’t provide viable alternatives or recommendations for change. But there is no easy answer or quick fix to making marginalized groups feel safe here. Chance did not create these issues, and they didn’t leave on his tour bus. It’s time to push back the comforts of privilege and actively listen to the concerns of our peers.
