Two points President Gonzales, 1. you took preemptive action by “pausing” the OU Black Alumni Reunion, 2. I hope those ways to engage with you include a well publicized meeting time on April the 12th to discuss your decision.
Had you asked me a few years ago, would the leadership of Ohio University stand up to State or Federal policies that were innately racist, assaults on academic freedom, free speech and ultimately fascist in character, I would have believed it would. But Ohio, like post-secondary institutions across the country, some as powerful and prestigious as Colombia University, have quickly been brought to heel by forces that are best described as totalitarian in character. And so, in the same way that individual citizens across the US are organizing and gathering in unprecedented numbers to proclaim their resistance to the opponents of freedom and enemies of democracy, it now falls to the entire Ohio University Community to organize and act. Alumni will stop contributing to the University and make sure their decision and its reasons are widely known. Administrators who truly serve the interests of the institution and its students will individually find ways to subvert the policies that the State and Federal government are imposing which hinder the freedom of association, speech and interchange of ideas. Faculty worthy of their credentials and titles will refuse to comply with any attempts to dictate content, intent or instructional methods in their offices, classrooms and departments. And students, who indeed have the most at stake in this confrontation with the forces of bigotry, ignorance and repression, will call it what it is, and demonstrate in every possible way that Ohio University is not merely for them. Ohio University is them, it is theirs, and it is their legitimate obligation to defend it, by whatever means necessary.
Two points President Gonzales, 1. you took preemptive action by “pausing” the OU Black Alumni Reunion, 2. I hope those ways to engage with you include a well publicized meeting time on April the 12th to discuss your decision.
Had you asked me a few years ago, would the leadership of Ohio University stand up to State or Federal policies that were innately racist, assaults on academic freedom, free speech and ultimately fascist in character, I would have believed it would. But Ohio, like post-secondary institutions across the country, some as powerful and prestigious as Colombia University, have quickly been brought to heel by forces that are best described as totalitarian in character. And so, in the same way that individual citizens across the US are organizing and gathering in unprecedented numbers to proclaim their resistance to the opponents of freedom and enemies of democracy, it now falls to the entire Ohio University Community to organize and act. Alumni will stop contributing to the University and make sure their decision and its reasons are widely known. Administrators who truly serve the interests of the institution and its students will individually find ways to subvert the policies that the State and Federal government are imposing which hinder the freedom of association, speech and interchange of ideas. Faculty worthy of their credentials and titles will refuse to comply with any attempts to dictate content, intent or instructional methods in their offices, classrooms and departments. And students, who indeed have the most at stake in this confrontation with the forces of bigotry, ignorance and repression, will call it what it is, and demonstrate in every possible way that Ohio University is not merely for them. Ohio University is them, it is theirs, and it is their legitimate obligation to defend it, by whatever means necessary.
I love your thoughtful replies…The time for action is at hand.