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March 01, 2005
Letter to the Editor: Students should tread carefully regarding institutional concerns
In response to Professor Markowitz’s Feb. 22 letter to the editor, let me first state that I was not a member of his Racial and Cultural Minorities course. This is pertinent information that, for the sake of intellectual honesty, I feel obliged to mention prior to publishing my opinion in the Oracle. I write to express my support of Professor Markowitz and address two issues associated with his letter.
First is the public manner in which Xiong chose to express her grievances about the course. I was appalled the Oracle chose, on Dec. 7, to publish her letter, as it was rife with unsubstantiated claims and spurious accusations about a member of Hamline’s faculty, but the most egregious action was the posting of this letter on the office doors of the CLA faculty. I would venture to say that most students, including me, have been upset, even offended, by the content of some of the courses offered at Hamline. Few students, though, would have the temerity to chastise their professors with a public extravaganza such as Xiong and Smith’s. Like it or not, there is a process for resolving these matters, including meeting with the professor, the professor’s department chair, and the dean of the college. By all accounts, Xiong was engaged in this process. But her decision to submit her complaint to the Oracle at least three days before attempting to reconcile her grievances in an appropriate manner demonstrated an epic lack of judgment. These polemic actions are tantamount to controversy-mongering and are disrespectful to the academic community as a whole.
The second issue I would like to briefly address is Markowitz’s pointed critique of the social and intellectual climate of today’s academy: “We might, as a university, want to examine a culture that may in fact be instrumental in creating, encouraging and sustaining self-righteous and destructive behavior presented in the guise of advocacy.” I hope that his words will serve as an impetus for reflection and present us with an opportunity for a more open exchange of ideas. It is my sincere wish that the tendentious rhetoric of a vociferous few, who far too quickly cast those with whom they disagree in the role of the ignorant, oppressive antagonist, will be replaced with tolerance and a more genuine breed of diversity. It is a shame when those of us who might otherwise find merit in the arguments against white privilege and institutional racism are alienated and shut out by the specious advocacy and bully tactics of Xiong and Smith.
Christopher Swanson
CLA Student
Posted by msveum at March 1, 2005 07:36 PM
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