This has been a year in which, all across our campus, we have engaged one another in new initiatives to create a more truly inclusive Wooster community. This will be a long — perhaps a never-ending — process. We cannot say that we have achieved all that we would like. But we can, I think, be justly proud of the many ways in which faculty, staff members and students have worked together, all contributing to this effort to build a more welcoming and equitable community at The College of Wooster.
Therefore, I was particularly saddened to learn that ugly acts of vandalism, specifically targeting two of the constituent parts of the Center for Diversity and Inclusion — the offices of multicultural student affairs, and sexuality and gender inclusion — took place in Babcock Hall last weekend. There can be no excuse for such ignorant and cowardly behavior. Mutual respect is the fundamental basis on which a community is built. But a person who resorts to vandalism aggressively proclaims that he or she does not respect the values, the rights, even the safety of others.
It may seem that foolishly defacing a part of our campus does not physically harm any one. But, in fact, vandalism is an act that harms all of us because the unknown perpetrator of such an act unleashes the threat that each of us may be at risk. In that way, this overt act brings vividly to light the many more hidden, covert harms that can cause members of our community to feel vulnerable, unwelcome and even unsafe.
Chief Glick has called upon anyone with information about this event to come forward; I second that call. But I also want to issue an invitation for us to come together, as a community, to condemn this kind of behavior and to affirm, together, that vandalism, disrespect, and acts of hatred do not represent who we are or who we want to be. Together with the leaders of the multi-ethnic student council, Shadra Smith, and Melissa Chesanko, I invite you to come to a forum in the Lowry Pit on Sunday, April 10 at 7 p.m. We will hear from speakers, and there will be an opportunity to contribute thoughts and images to the Art Wall. Let us stand together, to proclaim our resistance to aggression in all its forms and our aspirations toward equity and justice for all in our community.