Established 1826 — Oldest College Newspaper West of the Alleghenies

Miami should be a place to share ideas, not devalue them

TO THE EDITOR:

On Friday, September 30 a group of Miami students held a moving vigil at the Hub dedicated to remembering black lives lost to senseless violence in America. Prior to the event, in our long Miami tradition, these students also shared their feelings on sheets that were secured between the trees surrounding the Hub.

The vigil itself was a model campus event; it was thoughtful, moving and well organizedi. Its goals were laudable: productive dialogue and healing reflection. Regrettably, however, many of the sheets carefully crafted by these students appear to have been inappropriately removed. It is possible that this likely vandalism was random and unrelated to the messages expressed.

However, those responsible may have been motivated by a rejection of the ideas expressed on those sheets. In either case, the actions are an unacceptable affront to our values and should be condemned.

We aspire to be a community in which all members feel welcome, and irrespective of the intent these actions have made some of our students feel unwelcome and targeted -- an unfortunate and sadly ironic outcome of a vigil that was intended, in part, to provide a segment of our student body that often feels alienated and unwelcome a moment of recognition and reassurance from the broader campus community.

For those who might be responsible, the Miami community finds your actions deplorable and antithetical to our values and our goal of creating a welcoming environment for all. If you were motivated in your actions by a difference of opinion, the expectation in our community is that you take ownership of your dissent and that you explore those differences in a civil and responsible way.

In our community of learners and scholars, ideas are to be shared and debated, not ignored or removed from sight. These actions provide not the road to the enlightenment we seek, but rather trap us in the ignorance we reject. To quote President Crawford from one of his recent tweets:

"Knowing words (and actions) can hurt, we can choose instead to use them to heal, elevate and unite. We are

One Miami."

Nicole Anselmo -- anselmnm@miamioh.edu

Miranda Woods -- woodsmj@miamioh.edu

Mike Curme, Dean of Students -- curmema@miaimoh.edu

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