It’s both disturbing and disappointing that the protesters opted for dismissive and violent behavior when they could have chosen the harder route of listening and responding with intellectual honesty. This moment, however, presents a tremendous opportunity for difficult dialogue if the community is willing to engage. Free speech can be messy even hurtful, and those voices you don’t agree with or that you find offensive don’t just go away because you get to shut them up. In a war of ideas, dialogue and conversation are the only way forward if violence is to be avoided.
I know President Patton gets this. Over the past two years she has been at Middlebury she constantly reminds anyone who listens that the work of a liberal arts community is to engage in difficult conversations no matter how uncomfortable they make people feel. I hope the administration has the strength to see this through, and that they hold those who broke rules accountable for their behavior. In the end this is an excellent learning opportunity for the community. Just hoping they take advantage of it.
These two articles come directly from the campus community. The first is from an Iranian religious prof (who incidentally was caught up in the travel ban trying to return from Iran last month) and the second is from a blog written by a current Middlebury student.
http://www.addisonindependent.com/201703sad-day-middlebury-campus
https://justwordsonline.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/2017/03/03/on-charles-murray/