One Community

Yesterday, anti-Semitic graffiti was uncovered in Lewisohn Hall. The incident was the latest in a string of recent bias events that have raised questions about the safety of ideas and students on campus. If any good has come out of this, it is the incredible student effort to hold continual dialogue and address the root causes and campus culture that have allowed these bias incidents to occur. But such efforts are far less effective without administrative support.

When students have raised similar concerns in the past, the administration has been silent or slow to respond. But yesterday students received two e-mails—one from University President Lee Bollinger and one co-signed by Vice President Nicholas Dirks, Dean Austin Quigley, and interim-Dean Gerald Navratil—almost immediately after the graffiti was found. In the future, students should expect this kind of response from the administration as an automatic first step in times of trouble. A University-wide e-mail is a sign that officials are part of efforts to discuss how Columbia can be better, and the administration must continue to show its commitment to being part of that diaogue.

Both President Bollinger and Dean Quigley have been criticized in the past for contacting students too late. Quigley especially is far removed from campus life—many complain that he appears only for commencement and graduation to make a few remarks and then vanishes to focus on fundraising. However, recent events seem to have brought the dean onto campus—Quigley made an appearance at an event sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Columbia Queer Alliance yesterday afternoon to take student questions and comment on the recent events. This must become a habit rather than a special occasion.

President Bollinger has also reached out to students in recent weeks, holding two forums with campus leaders, along with a fireside chat. In order to be an effective and unifying force, the administration must be more than a public voice in the time of crisis. It must be a consistent presence to which students may look for both information and support. The administration must not only listen—it must also be willing to commit to change.

Yesterday’s e-mail expressly suggested that “repeated administrative statements deploring these incidents are an essential part of Columbia’s response to their occurrence.” The University must make good on this promise and continue to communicate directly and openly with the student body. Such interaction must not cease when the controversy dies down and students should be able to expect an immediate response from the administration whenever a crucial event occurs. Even more so, the administration must do more than send e-mails and issue statements from on high—it must directly engage the student body in town halls and open forums. Student leaders have already made incredible efforts to facilitate student dialogue, but if Columbia is to be “one community,” as described by President Bollinger, then the entire University must be in attendance and participate in the discourse.