Enough is Enough

Vol. 2 No. 20

I am sad and I am angry.

Sometime during the week of February 26^th, something happened on the FLCC Campus that indirectly connects with Honors and, quite frankly, goes against everything that Honors – and this college – stands for.  At least two posters for classes being taught this semester were defaced with profanity.  The posters were for HON 200 – Women Who Kill (taught by Drs. Merrill and Ross) and SOC 201 – Racial & Ethnic Minorities (taught by Dr. Whisman).   These two classes, taught by three accomplished and educated women, were targeted for acts of vandalism.

This is intolerable.

This college celebrates values that make no room for what amounts to hate language.  Honors celebrates these same values, along with reflection, curiosity, intellectual exploration and rigor, and strives to make a place for all students regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or even mental health.  There is no room for this kind of behavior.  This should not have happened.

We live in world that seems increasingly intolerant – but there are so many voices calling out for love, acceptance, and accountability.  So many voices celebrating people who have too long been silenced.  So many voices of bravery and courage – asking for change and celebrating difference.   #metoo.  The Parkland students.  Wakanda.  We need to have those voices here.  We need to stand up against hatred, bigotry, and intolerance.

This behavior will not change what we do in our class rooms.  It will not change our values or our mission.  It will not weaken our resolve to learn and teach, to explore and expand our minds.  If anything, it will galvanize our dedication to accepting and celebrating ALL students.

The holder of that pen has no right to so anonymously dismiss the reality of the world around them.  Their actions are hateful, cowardly, and we need to make it stop.

So, in this blog, I am asking you to join me in standing up for what so many of us believe in.  Speak out against hatred.  Push back against random graffiti that seems harmless, but is not.  Don’t laugh at jokes told at the expense of women and minorities.  Add your voice to those who are saying enough is enough.

This is OUR campus.  Our refuge, our home away from home.  So many find acceptance and love here and see this as a powerful place to forward their dreams and find their wings.  And they love it here.  We love it here.  We don’t need those few who tarnish that experience to have a voice like this.  We don’t need them to hide behind a pen that leaves hateful comments on posters that dare to focus on something other than the white male experience.  That is NOT our FLCC and we all need to work together to silence those voices and deafen their message with our own.

I, for one, am angry and ready to stand up against this kind of behavior.  It is not to be tolerated here – or anywhere.

Not on my watch.