Through these last few weeks of separation, many of us have been thinking about what it means to have “Love and Honor.” Being away from Oxford has been more difficult than many of us anticipated, causing us to reflect on what makes being a Miami student so great in the first place.
The Miami University Senate is considering a policy to ban all amorous relationships between faculty and students and between graduate students and undergraduate students. Although well meaning, the proposal poses a threat to the liberty and associational rights of faculty, staff, and students; and it infantilizes students.
We write to register our alarm at hearing widespread national references to COVID-19, or the global coronavirus pandemic of 2019 and (now) 2020, as the “foreign virus,” the “Chinese virus,” or the “Wuhan virus.” Not only is such rhetoric false, it is also dangerous. Loneliness and fear are intrinsic risks of any public health crisis under the best of circumstances. Medical nativism just escalates all the risk of isolation and anxiety our Chinese students might face.
On Wednesday, Feb. 5, Miami University officials announced that Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine will serve as the spring 2020 commencement speaker. This news was met with varying opinions from the Miami community. Some current students, alumni and parents threatened to boycott the ceremony and faulted the university administration for being “too conservative" on Miami's Facebook page. Others believed that, in today’s divided climate, commencement speakers shouldn’t be political figures. A few praised the decision, citing DeWine’s long history of public service in Ohio and his exemplification of the Code of Love and Honor. I had the honor of interning for "Team DeWine" on his gubernatorial campaign in 2018, the summer following my freshman year. Before I started, I didn’t know what I believed nor who I wanted to become. I grew up in a conservative household, but I was hesitant to take a side when I arrived at Miami because I didn’t want anyone to label me as racist, misogynistic or anything that fits the typical (but false) Republican stereotype of today.
A few weeks ago, a racist picture was sent by now-former ASG Senator, Maxwell Hessling. The Miami Student, while doing good work with the original story and editorial they published, failed to note that the offensive meme that was posted by a member of the College Republicans. It is important that things like this are stated and put to the forefront, and that groups on campus condemn this type of behavior in their own groups and to their friends exhibiting harmful behavior. When the article was published in The Student, I contacted a member of the College Republicans executive board to ask if they were aware of this and whether they would be doing anything about it.
The thoughts I offer below are based upon short remarks I gave at Miami's beautiful Lavender graduation ceremony on Saturday, May 5.
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.
