April 29, 2005

When I first heard the words and ideas of Martin Luther King Jr. in August 1963, I was an idealistic high school senior anxious to leave home for college the following year. Idealistic or not, I was certain that in my lifetime I would witness the time that Dr. King envisioned in his eloquent address to the thousands who marched and stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to hear his vision in the now famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

Little did I imagine that more than 40 years later, as the chancellor of a major national university, I would be grappling with the same prejudices, suspicions and hatred that Dr. King rallied Americans to overcome. As I've pondered reports of hate speech and prejudice at the University of Colorado at Boulder in recent weeks, I've flashed back in my mind to Dr. King's stirring words. These are words I believed the vast majority of Americans now embrace, even knowing that for a few the ideals of equality and mutual respect will never be ingrained.

But even for those who do not fully embrace equality and "justice for all," I have to wonder, why would anyone act out that sentiment by harming a complete stranger, even a still-developing (some would say immature) college student? Why have they acted out in ways that cause pain and are ultimately destructive to the entire fabric of human society, not to mention to the constantly changing fabric of a university?

As reports of such acts have filtered in to me and others in the campus administration, I'd like to think it is merely a sign of youthful impulsiveness or false bravado combined with the desire to impress or shock one's friends that leads young people in 2005 to taunt, harass or attack another person based on race. Few if any young people who are admitted to a major university campus in this day have grown up without learning every step of the way that such behavior is wrong and, to most people, sickening.

Why, then, would young people accept the dare and abandon everything they've learned for a few cheap laughs, the thrill of acting out or the thought of grabbing headlines while forcing a wedge in the university community, a community that 98 percent of us are struggling to build, diversify and strengthen?

Many people have theories about why hateful acts directed at those of another race continue to plague us in a nation dedicated to freedom and equality for all. I don't have all the answers, but as a parent, a teacher and a university chancellor I have to wonder if we haven't somehow failed as a society and as individuals in all of our many roles to adequately impress on our children, our students and our colleagues the monumental importance of building mutual respect among people.

Not just people of our own race, not just people of our own socio-economic backgrounds, not just people in our own day-to-day circles. Every one of us, and particularly those of us who teach young people, must understand the absolute necessity for individuals in an increasingly crowded, noisy and chaotic world to make civility and respectful behavior a primary goal in everything we do. In institutions of learning, and especially in our colleges and universities, we must reverse the trend of a growing incidence of campus hate crimes.

At CU-Boulder, many steps have been taken to address these problems. For example, the Chancellor's Executive Committee recently approved a new campus harassment and discrimination policy that will be implemented this fall. In addition, training modules on bystander training have been developed to encourage students to intercede when another person may be acting or planning to act in such a way that might be harmful to their own or another's health, safety and welfare.

But we know we need to do more, and while I am chancellor I will be searching for new ideas to help our students understand the value that every individual brings to our collective university experience.

My dream is that before the next generation of university leaders arrives on the scene, our generation will have made significant progress in our mission to improve understanding and acceptance on our campus. I welcome the support and ideas of our faculty, students, staff, alumni and friends to help in this struggle.


Originally published in the Denver Post.