February 8, 2008
To the Williams Community,
We clearly all have work to do to make our campus inclusive of all its members.
Last night another productive meeting of students, faculty, and staff took place in which plans were developed to move us further toward this vital goal. Something that happened afterward reinforces how urgent that work is.
Two faculty members, excited about what had emerged at that meeting, happened to overhear an outdoor conversation among several students that included the cavalier use of the same racial slur that appeared last weekend in Williams Hall.
The faculty members approached the students and engaged them in dialogue about what they'd heard and about how distressing it was. They talked for quite some time.
The faculty members then discussed the matter with us late this afternoon. We thank them for making the effort, important for the health of the community, to engage the students and to report it to us, instead of letting the matter slide. In doing so, they set a strong example for us all.
This is another indication of how deeply ingrained some corrosive patterns of behavior are in society and how far we are from being immune to them here at Williams. They persist despite the College's efforts to uproot them, remaining part of the structure of our community.
They're hurtful, damaging, and offensive. They're unacceptable. They must stop.
Those who engage in such behavior must be held accountable.
At the same time, we as a community must pursue the ongoing work of making Williams a college at which all its members can thrive. Doing so fundamentally must include eliminating patterns of behavior that communicate that some members do not belong here. Such bigotry damages all of us and the work to eradicate it must come from all of us, not just those most immediately targeted.
The coming days will include planning ways to accelerate further the efforts that the College has made over the years on matters of inclusion-efforts that certainly now need greater energy and focus from us all. This will include an open meeting this week for faculty and staff. Also, the organizers of this week's meetings will be communicating, when they are ready to, the next steps that have emerged from their efforts.
As painful as this time is, from it can grow, must grow, an even better Williams.
Regards,
M. Schapiro
President
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