The thoughts I offer below are based upon short remarks I gave at Miami's beautiful Lavender graduation ceremony on Saturday, May 5.
On Friday, April 20, 2018, BAM 2.0 representatives met with members of the administration. Present at the meeting was Dean Mike Curme, Vice-President for Student Affairs Jayne Brownell, Dr. Kelley Kimple, Director of the Office of Diversity Affairs, and President Greg Crawford. We were pleased to hear positive updates on several of our demands, including the creation, and now implementation, of the bias reporting incident button, possible layouts for a new space to serve as a larger Office of Diversity Affairs and a new website in the works that will display all administrative updates related to the list of demands and will continue to serve as a source of updates for the Miami community in the future. However, one demand in particular has not been met appropriately in a timely fashion by administration. Even after its inadequate response was brought up in this meeting, we feel as though administration is not hearing us loud enough.
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. In recent years, our Miami University community has been part of a national conversation. Many are speaking out against power imbalances between men and women, as well as abusive behavior in a variety of settings. From #MeToo to #TimesUp, women and men alike are rallying against these abuses.
Nine years ago, outgoing Speaker of the House Paul Ryan gave the commencement speech at his alma mater.
Since its founding in 1809, Miami University has failed to cultivate a culture that is welcoming and receptive for its Black students. Historically, the actions taken by administration, while recognized, simply are not enough. We, the Black Action Movement 2.0 (BAM 2.0), on behalf of Miami University's Black community, are holding administration accountable for effectively combating the issues plaguing its Black students. Therefore, these are our demands.
We are writing today to sustain the legacy, intellectual contribution and community impact of the work of professor Thomas A. Dutton. We understand that you have already pledged to "carry the work forward" that Tom has developed over the past decades. Now we ask that you specifically commit to establishing institutional structural support to continue the spirit of his contribution to the university and beyond. This letter is written and signed to encourage Miami University to explicitly search for an architecture faculty member with the academic background, expertise, and experience to fulfill the role of Director of the Center for Community Engagement in Over-the Rhine (CCE) and honor the endowment the family is establishing to sustain his legacy.
Letter to the editor:
Letter to the editor
Are we all moving along with business-as-usual following the Las Vegas massacre? Are we at all concerned about the safety of our loved ones? If not, then we might as well consider that we are the next victims of sniper fire as we go to work, to school, or to the grocery store.
To the Editor:
While political differences are a constant and even valuable part of civic life, political extremism is an increasing and dangerous trend. Such extremism exists on both the left (e.g., Antifa-related violence at protests, attempts to prevent speakers such as Ann Coulter and Milo Yiannopoulos from talking on college campuses) and the right (e.g., the killing of Heather Heyer in Charlottesville, voter suppression). This increased polarization is harmful as it divides our communities and makes it very difficult, if not impossible, to negotiate and solve our nation's challenges.
Official Miami seems ecstatic about our record enrollment this fall.
TO THE EDITOR:
Dear President Crawford and the Miami University Community,
I am writing on behalf of alumni and friends of the university who have placed memorial trees and benches across our campus to honor or memorialize a loved one.
Student Haillie Erhardt recently asked President Crawford and the Miami University community to consider changing the name of Student Disability Services (SDS) because of the stigma associated with using services from an office with the word "disability" in its name. While SDS and the Students with Disabilities Advisory Council (SDAC) honor Erhardt's commitment to an inclusive, just environment at Miami and affirm her observations about the stigma surrounding disability, we feel that removing "disability" from Student Disability Services would not be the best choice for the Miami community.
TO THE EDITOR:
S.G. Alexander, Associate Professor of Physics