As the result of the election sinks in, some within academia will be cheered by the outcome, others will be distressed. It might be challenging now to remember that democracy and higher education have been good for each other. We don’t have to pretend to be neutral, but we do have a job to do as educators.
At my institution, Wesleyan, the work in this new political context is to continue to maintain our commitment to an education based in boldness, rigour and practical idealism. That work has never been more important.
The university will do everything it can to protect the most vulnerable among us. The mass deportations promised by president-elect Trump threaten our students who may be undocumented and are a cause of great concern to many in our community. As we said after the election of 2016: Wesleyan will remain committed to principles of non-discrimination, including equal protection under the law, regardless of national origin or citizenship. The university will not voluntarily assist in any efforts by the federal government to deport our students, faculty or staff solely because of their citizenship status. Today, the work to defend the most vulnerable has never been more important.
Candidate Trump promised to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion departments and to punish those schools that do not live up to his version of civil rights standards. At Wesleyan we have long believed in the educational power of diversity, and we know that our Office for Equity and Inclusion has a vital role to play in our educational mission. We will redouble our efforts to enhance belonging while we cultivate a greater pluralism. That work has never been more important.
The university will continue to defend academic freedom, which has allowed universities to create teaching environments free of official censorship or the soft despotism of pandering to commercial popularity. The classroom must remain a space for professors to share their professional expertise with students who can in turn explore ideas and methodologies without fear of imposed orthodoxies. The campus must strive to be the home of an ecosystem of genuine intellectual diversity. Cultivating an environment in which people can pursue ideas and forms of expression without fear of retaliation has never been more important.
The attacks on higher education, on democracy, on the rule of law threaten to sweep away freedoms that have been hard won over the last 100 years. Education is a process through which people develop their capacities for exploration, collaboration and creative endeavours. They learn to treat new ideas with curiosity and respect, even as they are also taught to critically evaluate these ideas. They learn skills that will be valued beyond the university and habits of mind and spirit that will help them flourish throughout their lives. They work to think for themselves so that they can be engaged citizens of a democracy rather than mere subjects of an authoritarian regime. That work has never been more important.
However we feel about the election result, we must strive to make education and democracy protect and nurture one another. At our university that will mean a very intentional effort to protect and nurture the seeds of a democratic culture. We must reject the cultivated ignorance that is used to fan the flames of hatred. We must defend the freedom to learn together in our schools, colleges and universities so that we can continue our democratic experiment.
At Wesleyan, to quote our mission statement, we work to be “a diverse, energetic community of students, faculty and staff who think critically and creatively and who value independence of mind and generosity of spirit”. This work has never been more important than it is now.
This is a slightly edited version of a message sent out today to students, faculty and alumni by Michael Roth, president of Wesleyan University.
