If one looks at the Amherst College website under "About Amherst College: Amherst's Philosophy," one finds no cohesive world vision, rather a list of excerpts from past presidents of the College. While I do not disagree with the substance of these comments, they leave our mission, our commitments and our values vague.
I do not fault the content of these statements. They provide a history that aids us in outlining our values. The focus of these comments is our commitment to education in the liberal arts tradition, a tradition of enlightenment, discourse and learning not merely in the classroom, but in a community dedicated to the pursuit of higher knowledge.
To set forth these goals as exhibited in our history, Amherst must issue a "Statement of Social Responsibility." We shall therein commit to form our desire to create this socially just world deriving from our commitments as an institution.
Nothing is more fundamental to a college than those whom it educates and the manner in which it does so. Our "Statement of Social Responsibility" should begin with those commitments that we as an institution find most fundamental. Our commitment toward providing every student who leaves this college with a set of values and a framework with which to examine the world drives our every decision. The greatest gift we give to the world is the legacy of our graduates.
The best way we can help them to create a socially just world outside our walls is by creating one on our campus. While we are not perfect, we have made great strides in this direction, but there are ways we can go further.
The "Statement of Social Responsibility" should begin by encompassing the statement of respect for persons and our need-blind admissions policy, but we must go even further. We must affirm our commitment to nullifying the social injustices of the past on our campus through our commitment to diversity, and correction for such injustice.
We might do this first in our admissions policies. We should announce that not only will we continue our race-based preferential policies in the name of correcting the structural racism so prevalent in this country, but we should also create a program of economic affirmative action. There is both class and racial discrimination in this world, and social justice requires us to confront it.
I commend President Marx for his recent statement calling for a reconsideration of national early decision policies. These policies discriminate against those requiring serious financial aid because these students cannot accept Amherst's offer of admission without knowing how much aid such an offer entails. We must reconsider this policy to minimize the influence of wealth disparities in an Amherst education.
To further confront this issue, we must announce our commitment of ensuring no student on this campus is in any way hindered by an inability to pay. We must initiate a program of social welfare to this effect, allowing those who cannot pay the dues of student organizations or who cannot afford the necessary books for their classes to do so without being forced to reveal their financial status to their classmates.
Our commitment to nondiscrimination must extend also to the lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender and queer community. I commend Swarthmore College for being the first college to initiate such policies in housing. If homosexuals may share a room with those of a gender to which they are attracted, why can't they, like so many others on this campus, share a room with those of a sex or gender to which they are not attracted? Our commitment to diversity should extend to all aspects of the wider world. We must create campus policies that mirror such commitments.
We should adequately compensate our service workers. It is my understanding that many who serve our community have not recently received financial compensation for the rising cost of living. This does not comport with our notions of social justice or our commitment to "privilege and responsibility." Our responsibility for social justice clearly compels us to act. We must insure that those on whom we depend can depend on us to do right by them. Our college's existence as a community compels us to disseminate our values in all forums possible.
This is only a beginning. I have begun to sketch out my vision for where this college must go in its quest for social justice. This vision is admittedly incomplete in depth and scope. I have noted here just some ways in which the promises of our commitments lie incomplete.
I have called for a "Statement of Social Responsibility." Such a statement and effort must go far beyond the three examples of social responsibility I have called for on this page. It must be broader, more encompassing and targeted not merely at this campus, but towards imbuing into the students of this college the values that allow the unique form of education we here call the "liberal arts."
One person alone cannot create this statement. The creation of a "Statement of Social Responsibility" will require the collaboration of all who belong to this community. It will be a long and arduous task of consideration and reconsideration. It will involve a serious debate about what we, as an institution, stand for. It is time to have this debate. dedebatI wrote last week regarding my discontent with the political apathy of our school. I concluded with a call to action-that we might not merely talk of a socially just world, but instead create one. Many have asked how we might create such a world. I write this week to explain further where I believe our college must go.
If one looks at the Amherst College website under "About Amherst College: Amherst's Philosophy," one finds no cohesive world vision, rather a list of excerpts from past presidents of the college. While I do not disagree with the substance of these comments, they leave our mission, our commitments and our values vague, a mere collection of influences from our history.
I do not fault the content of these statements. They provide a history that aids us in outlining our values for the future. The focus of these comments is our commitment to education in the liberal arts tradition, a great tradition of enlightenment, discourse and learning not merely in the classroom but in a community dedicated to the pursuit of higher knowledge.
The existence of this community and its success in the education of those who go forth from this college relies on certain shared values. Amherst College is but a subset of a wider society in which there is room for all; however as President Marx reminds us, Amherst must be a "gadfly" or an "electric eel" for that society. We have a duty to remind the rest of society of those values for which we stand. Our graduates and our institution must go forth and illuminate the lands.
To set forth these goals as exhibited in our history, Amherst must issue a "Statement of Social Responsibility." We shall therein commit to form our desire to create this socially just world deriving from our commitments as an institution.
Nothing is more fundamental to a college than those whom it educates and the manner in which it does so. Our "Statement of Social Responsibility" should begin with those commitments we as an institution find most fundamental. This we find in what the Hymn to Amherst terms as "what seeking brought us hither"-a commitment to education. Our commitment toward providing every student who leaves this college with a set of values and a framework with which to examine the world drives our every decision. In a most fundamental sense, the greatest gift we give to the world is the legacy of our graduates.
The best way we can help them to create a socially just world outside our walls is by creating one on our campus. While we are not perfect, we have made great strides in this direction, but there are ways we can still improve.
The Statement of Social Responsibility" should begin by encompassing the statement of respect for persons and our need-blind admissions policy, but we must go even further. We must affirm our commitment to nullifying the social injustices of the past on our campus through our commitment to diversity and correction for such injustice.
We might do this first in our admissions policies. We should announce that not only will we continue our race-based affirmative action policies in the name of correcting that structural racism so prevalent in this country beneath the surface, but we should also create a program of economic affirmative action. There is both class and racial discrimination in this world. I have seen it on this campus. Social justice requires us to confront it.
I commend President Marx, in this respect, for his recent statement calling for a reconsideration of national (early decision? he wrote affirmative action but I think he meant ED-Max) affirmative action policies. These policies discriminate against those requiring serious financial aid, as they cannot resign themselves to accepting Amherst's offer without knowing what such an offer entails. We must reconsider this policy to minimize the influence of wealth disparities in an Amherst education.
To further confront this issue, we must announce our commitment of insuring no student on this campus is in any way hindered by an inability to pay. More than this, we must insure that no student is so much as deterred from that which he would do on this campus for fear of explaining that he cannot pay. We must initiate a program of social welfare to this affect, allowing those who cannot pay the dues of student organizations or who cannot afford the necessary books for their classes to do so without being forced to reveal their financial status to their classmates.
Our commitment to nondiscrimination must extend also to the lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender and queer community. I commend Swarthmore College for being the first college to initiate such policies in housing. The single sex dorm room is among the legacies of an era in which we concerned ourselves too much with the sexual activity of undergraduates. If homosexuals on this campus may share a room with those of a gender to which they are attracted, why may they not, like so many others on this campus, share a room with those of a sex or gender to which they are not attracted? Our commitment to diversity should extend to all aspects of the wider world. We must create campus policies that mirror such commitments.
We should adequately compensate the people who keep Amherst on schedule- the maintenance staff (check this with Rusell, again I'm not sure what he meant). It is my understanding that many who serve our community have not recently received financial compensation for the rising cost of living. This does not comport with our notions of social justice or our commitment to "Privilege and Responsibility." Our responsibility for social justice clearly compels us to action. We must insure that those on whom we depend can depend on us to do right by them. Our college's existence as a community compels us to disseminate our values in all forums possible. We must exhibit them to all, not merely those most privileged.
This is only a beginning. I am trying to sketch out my vision for where this college must go in its quest for social justice. This vision is admittedly incomplete in depth and scope. I have noted here some ways in which the promises of our commitments lie incomplete.
I have called for a "Statement of Social Responsibility." Such a statement and effort must go far beyond the three examples of social responsibility I have called for on this page. It must be broader, more encompassing and targeted not merely at this campus, but towards imbuing into the undergraduates of this college the values that allow the unique form of education we here call the liberal arts.
One person alone cannot create this statement. The creation of a "Statement of Social Responsibility" will require the collaboration of all who assent to this community. It will be a long and arduous task of consideration and reconsideration. It will involve a serious debate about what we, as an institution stand for. It is time to have this debate.