Suggesting that WSU swarms with "liberals" who dictate the campus agenda, Edward Weber proposes true "intellectual diversity." Yet he acknowledges that the institute he directs has "considerable programming resources" for achieving "diversity," resources that "liberals" lack.
Since he refuses to name his adversaries, let me suggest that many of us are people of color, and we reject his "liberal" label. We seek commonsense justice. When I moved here I was told this region is extremely conservative, with very little true diversity – that is, the views of students and teachers of color are seldom heard and almost never honored. Diversity is defined for us by bureaucrats who refuse to punish crimes of racial harassment and hatred, and when a public display of violent xenophobia leads to shouted racial slurs, it is we, the victims, who are labeled troublemakers. Many people of color here feel unwelcome and unsafe.
James Baldwin wrote that people of color have an obligation to overcome lingering inequalities. Weber's "diversity" refuses to recognize these inequalities as it seeks an even tradeoff of "liberals" and "conservatives." I suggest that Weber get to know students and teachers of color before changing policies to force his ill-informed "diversity" on us.
John Streamas
Assistant Professor, Comparative Ethnic Studies, WSU
We now have it on paper. WSU's academic left opposes debate and advocates intolerance.
By the way, I reject the term liberal as well when applied to people like Streamas. Totalitarian is so much more accurate.
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