SGA committee hosts rally for anti-defamation

Author: Kathryn Flagg

Fostering dialogue for a handful of students, alumni and administrators, the Middlebury College Student Government Association (SGA) Diversity Committee sponsored a sparsely attended forum for anti-defamation on Tuesday evening in Mead Chapel. The forum sought to discuss racial tensions on campus in light of January's racial altercation, promoting discussion between President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz and concerned students. The event culminated in a rally designed to "deface the defacing."

While sponsored by the SGA Diversity Committee, the bulk of the forum was devoted to dialogue between Liebowitz and those in attendance. In his opening remarks, Liebowitz likened the event to a similar, larger town hall meeting hosted last spring in McCullough Student Center, organized to address unrest following O'Neil Walker's trial. While Liebowitz affirmed the College's policy on intolerance, he quickly noted that January's racial incident cannot be considered an anomaly. "The situation or the incident that inspired this particular gathering or meeting was very unfortunate, but as I said last May, we don't exist in a bubble," he said. "These incidents will happen."

Liebowitz went on to say that, considering the growing diversity of the College, the existence of such altercations can be considered a "good sign." He noted that, when he came to the College in 1984, only five percent of the student body was comprised of international students or students of color - a number that has, today, jumped to 28 percent. He acknowledged the challenge of engaging and integrating this increased diversity, but confirmed the administration's commitment to tackling these tests.

Upon opening up the floor to comments from the smattering of students, Liebowitz answered questions and addressed concerns that have risen in the weeks following January's altercation. At the onset of this question-and-answer session, Alex Yule '08.5 expressed a recurring concern in the wake of the incident, questioning the procedure for reporting sensitive information to the College community.

Liebowitz reiterated his message voiced in previous correspondence with the student body, noting the difficult balance between informing the student body and protecting the identity of students who are engaged in judicial hearings. In the first of what would become many references to the Human Relations Committee's (HRC) report, due at the end of the month, Liebowitz noted that the HRC report will speak to ways that sensitive incidents can be discussed in a timely manner with the larger community. During the discussion, Liebowitz again expressed concern at the role alcohol plays in racially motivated altercations, a concern that he first raised in his Feb. 23 all-campus e-mail in response to an article printed in The Middlebury Campus. He reaffirmed his belief that "respect for community begins with respect for self," defending his move to put January's incident in the context of the larger perceived problem of excessive drinking on campus.

Robert King '09 challenged Liebowitz's focus on alcohol, noting, "I think it's fair to say that if someone gets drunk and does something racist, the sentiment of their action … runs deeper than their drunkenness." Liebowitz, however, said the role that drinking has played in racial altercations cannot be ignored when considering the incidents, and that both issues must be addressed when searching for solutions.

Later in the discussion, Dado Derviskadic '08 expressed concerns that the student body is not fully aware of the consequences of verbal harassment. "I know what happens if I cheat on a paper," he said. "I know what happens if I hit someone, but I don't know what happens if I verbally discriminate against someone." Liebowitz responded by noting that the "social honor code," discussed by faculty and administrators several years ago, deserves renewed investigation.

At the heart of Tuesday's discussion was a desire to foster an environment for confronting the challenges of engaging and integrating an increasingly diverse student body. Administrators affirmed their commitment to continuing to address this problem, and Liebowitz noted that many of the HRC's 36 pending recommendations will speak directly to tackling questions of diversity on campus. However, Liebowitz and Dean of the College Tim Spears also noted the importance of active student participation in the process.

"The administration has a responsibility for handling these kinds of issues," Spears said, "but students have to come to the fore to engage these issues. No amount of preaching is going to change the way people behave unless we're all willing to come at this together."

The evening's dialogue concluded in small rallies in which students decorated large pieces of plywood with degrading words that "we will not tolerate." The rally, an effort to "deface the defacing," displayed three prominent signs at each of the College's dining halls. Liebowitz and the SGA encouraged students and community members to communicate their ideas and concerns regarding diversity on campus.