February 9, 2007
To the Campus Community,
In my first year as President of The University of Arizona, I have learned more and more every day about our school. I have met many talented, thoughtful, creative and engaging students, faculty and staff from all walks of life and every corner of the world. There are amazing contributions being made on and off campus, across the nation and around the world by the members of the UA community. I am energized by the fact that our institution is viewed as one of the truly great universities with a stellar reputation.
So imagine my disappointment when I learned about an off-campus party hosted by University of Arizona students dressing as Black people and using negative stereotypes. If that were not bad enough, the event was planned specifically for a day in which we honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in part for his dream of a color-blind society.
Over the past few days, there have been expressions of shock, anger, sadness, fear and disillusionment on our campus that have come from Anglo, Hispanic, Asian, American Indian, African American and international students and employees. I have also read letters to the editor in the Arizona Daily Wildcat defending the party by citing free speech, and scoffing at any assertion that it matters that someone might be hurt or offended by this behavior. It does matter.
At institutions like ours, including The University of Arizona, freedom of speech is valued as it must and should be. However, with that right comes great responsibility. Do we assert freedom of speech and then create havoc by jokingly mentioning bombs and hijackings at airports? When attending a movie, do you shrug your shoulders, think "freedom of speech" and then overlook the loud, obnoxious person talking on their cell phone? Or do we consider how our words and actions might affect others?
Assertions that the behavior was not racist tell me that such a label is considered negative and is not desired. This is a good thing. Unfortunately, the actions by the partygoers evoked precisely the charge of racism. Is this the image our students want to project about the University from which they will ultimately receive their degrees?
This is not an issue that affects only our African American students and employees. It is not a "Black problem." This is our problem and it affects you.
Why? Because the name, reputation and image projected by The University of Arizona will appear on your résumé for the rest of your life. We have been contacted by national and international news media with requests to cover this incident which will only further the very real belief in other parts of the country that the state of Arizona is racist, that The University of Arizona is not a welcoming institution and that we are hostile to African Americans. Nothing could be further from the truth, however, this type of behavior and those who condone it (regardless of their ethnicity) feed that perception.
We expect all of our students to conduct themselves as scholars of The University of Arizona. You do not check your status as a UA student at the door when you leave campus. At all times, you are representing The University of Arizona.
Discussions are being planned for interested members of our Campus Community to come together and talk about how we can begin to solve a problem that has plagued our nation for far too long. I challenge you to consider that maybe this is your problem to solve. Engage in conversations with each other. Participate. Think. Act. Agree or disagree respectfully! And when you are invited to an event that feels uncomfortable, find the courage within yourself to say to your friends, "This is wrong." The valuable lessons we can learn from this experience are immeasurable.
Imagine if we were to take the lead by demonstrating that here, in Tucson, at The University of Arizona, we value freedom of speech and the responsible behavior that goes with it, that we respect each other and that we have respect for ourselves. Let's model behavior that will make all of us proud about our University.
Robert N. Shelton
President
The University of Arizona
"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in the moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."
Martin Luther King, Jr. (1963)