Rights, Responsibilities, and the Fabric of Community

As we witness the ongoing and intensifying violence in Israel and Gaza, and the rising death toll now in the thousands, every single life lost is one too many. We can see that its profound reverberations are ever-growing, and that it deeply impacts our own community here at Occidental. To recognize the loss and suffering on all sides of this complex, historical impasse is not contradictory or false equivalence. It is born of our common humanity and stands in adamant opposition to the viral dehumanization that so often accompanies war.

What, then, of the ever-expanding radius of fallout and how we experience it here at Occidental? In my last letter, I urged us to look to the culture of care, which foregrounds compassion and reminds us that we need to rely on one another for mutual comfort in these difficult times. I am reminded of playwright Luis Valdez’s use of the ancient Mayan principle of “In Lak’Ech”—I am your other self—to emphasize that we are inextricably bound to each other. It is exceedingly urgent that we embody empathy and express our interconnectedness in this moment, especially for members of our community who have close ties to the region and are personally affected by this escalating violence and heartbreaking loss of innocent life.

For students, we continue to offer individualized support, including academic flexibility and counseling resources. Our Jewish Student Life coordinator continues to regularly support students individually through appointments and drop-in hours and to hold communal space. We are working with the Muslim Students Association to offer Muslim-oriented mental health resources and training for our counseling staff, and to offer transportation for off-campus worship opportunities.

While I ask this community to summon its collective compassion, empathy and patience for one another, let me be very clear: the College does not and will not tolerate antisemitic, Islamophobic, or other forms of targeted harassment. As a community, we must confront such transgressions when they occur, report and elevate incidents that cross a legal threshold, and promote an environment that allows for individual dignity and self-expression. If you have experienced or witnessed any acts that may constitute discrimination, harassment, or retaliation, please report them immediately to the Civil Rights & Title IX Office by using the office's online reporting form or one of these other available reporting options. In addition, if any student becomes aware of a threat to their physical safety, they should immediately call Campus Safety or 9-1-1.

Certainly, these are fraught, even frightening times. A period of intense global conflict, and in particular this conflict, can expose and inspire strong differences of opinion and create rifts even in closely connected communities like ours. I have heard from students, parents, alumni, and faculty who hold opposing views and yet share the same worry about whether Occidental College is a place where they can feel safe, welcomed and supported. Though it deeply saddens me to hear it, this question is of vital concern, one with which so many campuses are currently wrestling. 

It is no wonder that colleges and universities have been an emotional epicenter for all sides of the current conflict. Historically, colleges and college students have always been at the forefront of social movements, identifying social problems and advocating for social change. Schools do what schools do: work out meaning in the world. Yet, this is a project that is not without consequence. It is a project that calls for us to understand that our actions and words have impact and we have a responsibility to each other. The messages I have received indicate that the language and rhetoric used in some campus messages, social media posts, protests signage , in a statement signed by a number of faculty members, and elsewhere have caused anguish or provoked further conflict and fear.

I have been asked to respond to demands, issue specific statements, and demonstrate the College’s solidarity with one perspective or another. I have also been asked to condemn messages, intercede with faculty members, and intervene to stop campus events because of the anguish that others’ words have caused. While we unequivocally condemn Antisemitism and Islamophobia, we recognize that certain speech acts are protected by law.

Parents and students have raised concerns about whether students will be treated fairly or feel able to express themselves in class with professors who publicly articulate their personally held beliefs about the conflict. To be sure, our faculty, as individual members of our community, have the rights and obligations of any community member. A faculty member may speak or act as a private person, and they do not speak on behalf of the College. However, it is important to note that the faculty enshrine in their primary governance document, The Faculty Handbook, the twin responsibility to create “an atmosphere conducive to learning and to even-handed treatment in all aspects of the teacher-student relationship.”

Though, at times challenging, it remains crucial within our stated mission to protect free speech and academic freedom. These principles serve as foundations for the higher educational enterprise and enable and reinforce the concepts of open dialogue and debate that are central to how we teach, research and learn. We will not intervene in campus speech in favor of these academic principles of open exchange, even when (and perhaps especially when) we dislike or disagree with the views being expressed. As the adage goes, the best response to speech we find odious is more speech, not less speech.

And yet, permissible speech can still cause harm, to individuals in our community and to the fabric of our community as a whole. So how do we hold, in one hand, the fragile balance between free speech and diversity of thought and, in the other hand, our deepest desire to offer a true sense of belonging and safety to all members of our community, irrespective of identity or belief? How can we express our views with care for how our words are received? Can we challenge ourselves to find words and rhetoric around our fiercely held opinions that do not cause pain and fear for others? As expansive as this freedom of self-expression is, its accompanying responsibility is all the more profound. We all bear this accountability as teachers, scholars, and learners. It is the obligation to not only refrain from harassment or discrimination, but to pursue self-expression without tearing the fabric of community, and to mend it when it is torn.

This is a fundamental concern of existing in community with one another. It is one that we will need to struggle through together. We are, first and foremost, an educational institution, and our duty is to do just that: educate. In particular, we will look to offer tools for how to share divergent opinions respectfully. We must also consider strategies and resources to rebuild trust among faculty, students and administrative staff, in the classroom and beyond, to enable us to listen actively, find our common humanity, to evidence mutual respect across difference and to truly embrace a culture of care.

Sincerely,
President Elam