Ken Berwitz
In December, Oberlin College was handed a list of 14 demands from the school\’s Black Student\’s Union.
Not surprisingly, it contained the boilerplate garbage we have come to expect from blacklivesmatter and its kindred groups. It included, among other outrages, the creation of separate “safe” space for students of color (in other words places where non-Blacks would not be allowed based explicitly on the color of their skin – exactly what Rosa Parks fought against in Montgomery, Alabama\’s bus service.
Well, they got their answer….and the answer, at least in part, is “no”.
You can read Oberlin President Marvin Krislov\’s response to the demands by clicking here. But let me show you the one paragraph that demonstrates he has more guts than so many of his academic peers:
Some of the challengesoutlined in the document resonate with me and many members of our community,including our trustees. However, some of the solutions it proposes are deeplytroubling. I will not respond directly to any document that explicitly rejectsthe notion of collaborative engagement. Many of its demands contraveneprinciples of shared governance. And it contains personal attacks on a numberof faculty and staff members who are dedicated and valued members of thiscommunity.
Frankly, the rest of his letter is pretty much conciliatory – far more conciliatory than the writers of those demands deserved.
But credit where credit is due. At least Mr. Krislov had the intestinal fortitude to tell these righteous racists that he would not respond “directly” to such a document (whatever that means).
Not a full loaf? True, But, albeit limited, Marvin Krislov did display a level of courage, honesty and integrity that all too many of his counterparts in academia do not have even a sniff of.
I commend him for this…and hope others will follow suit.
