*** It has been brought to Mosaic Student Newspaper’s attention that some of the names previously associated with this letter were given to us by the Salve Regina Campus Republicans without proper consent of the individuals, or the individuals were not aware that the letter would be published on the Mosaic’s site. All names have since been removed from the letter. We are currently investigating this incident and will add names as we receive confirmation. ***
***The opinions and views in this article are of the authors own volition and do not necessarily reflect those of the Mosaic student newspaper.***
By The Salve Regina Campus Conservatives
We are the Salve Regina Campus Conservatives, and we would like to address the most recent handling of the resignation of SGA President Adriano Cirioli. Firstly, we would like to establish our organization’s core beliefs. We believe in individual freedom, equality for all, and personal rights. The cornerstone of these core beliefs is in the individual’s freedom of speech. Having said this, in the university environment, it is essential that this fundamental right be used with care and respect towards others, regardless of creed, culture, or beliefs.
In this light, the purpose of a university is an open forum of debate and discussion, where competing intellectual ideas are challenged, leaving the student to form a new opinion or outlook. In this debate, views may be expressed that may seem hateful or offensive, but this does not deem them worthy of exclusion. However offensive a view can be, banning speech sets the wrong precedent as often times it leads to thoughtful dialogue that enables the community to grow in intellectual understanding and tests the views of the university at large. The culture of the university regarding free speech can either aid or hinder the advancement of this important, tumultuous, and passionate process.
Excessive political correctness, in the form of censorship or condemnation, closes this dialogue, an incredible disservice to the intellectual process. While we recognize the right of the university community to hold their elected officials accountable, we are troubled by the insinuation of the Mosaic article that the university administration needs to mandate a certain dialogue, rather than allowing a natural dialogue to form around the issue.
Certain administrators, while pushing for an “open dialogue” on the subject, have advocated for required classes. Regarding the campus mindset, Dean J. Malcolm Smith has stated, “The true power of this would be if we were having a dialogue about this in the classroom. If there was a requirement in the core about race, that would be powerful.”
While we agree with the objective Dean Smith seeks to achieve, we disagree with the means he believes necessary to achieve the ends of a greater understanding of issues of race. Although this institutional method is more systematic, it is artificial and comes at the expense of a truly open community forum in which all types of free dialogue may take place.
People reserve the right to speak their minds freely and engage in unfettered discourse, which is unachievable in a classroom setting with a pre-set curriculum. The precedent set by this states that only a select dialogue can exist only in a classroom, which contradicts the purpose of the university as previously stated. This issue carries importance that requires a community-led discussion, which integrates both students and teachers equally. If the goal is open and honest dialogue it must be done outside of the classroom setting which is artificial and restrictive.
For these reasons, we would like extend a warm welcome to an upcoming public forum for all members of the Salve Regina community. The goal of this is to promote a truly open and thoughtful discussion. We want to open the floor to any ideas from any source regarding current campus issues, specifically on race and multiculturalism. All discussion will be conducted in a respectful manner to all ideas. “An Honest Dialogue on Diversity” will be held on Thursday, March 3 in Bazarksy Lecture Hall from 7:30pm until 9:30pm.
David Napierkowski
Blaine Woodcock
Sean Hughes
