11/15/2016
To Whom It Concerns,
Today, after reading a Facebook post from a fellow Coe College Kohawk I felt triggered. In fact, at the time of writing this I can barely keep my focus due to my emotions over this issue.
I have felt unsafe and targeted for the first time ever during my collegiate career. This was not due to unwanted sexual advances or hate speech, in fact it was due to the actions Coe College took in order to silence a fellow Kohawk's personal views and beliefs. Representatives of the College ordered a political sign to be taken down that was hanging on a dormitory door. It has come to my attention that some individual has stolen the sign, this is completely unacceptable and accountability is necessary. Now, I understand how the college views political beliefs as possibly infringing on certain organizational statuses, and this is a valid concern. However, the way in which such actions were taken today have me fearing future repression of the student body's voice.
A "Trump/Pence" sign was ordered to be taken off the individual's door when the individual who owned the sign was not present. The Area Coordinator then demanded the student's roommate to physically remove the student's sign from the door. It is my personal understanding that Coe College ordered a student to stifle and muffle a peer's personal right to free speech. The two students involved and some members of the community feel the same as I do and are attempting to overcome their own feelings of personal stress that a Coe College representative has caused them.
I question if this same sequence of events would have occurred if it was another candidate's campaign sign on the door. Would a "Clinton/Kaine" sign, or a Gary Johnson, or Jill Stein sign be ordered down in similar fashion? I believe no action would have been taken if this was the case because during the primary election there was prominent Bernie Sanders’ campaign items around campus with no reaction.
I understand how some individuals may be offended by a name. In fact, I find the actions of some of Trump's campaign followers reprehensible. Furthermore, I find the rhetoric the campaign espouses about immigrants sickening as a grandson of a Mexican immigrant. Lastly, I find the campaign's economic policies fundamentally flawed. Yet, I still fully support the affected student's right to stand by the ideas of the Trump/Pence campaign. Personally, the student is considered a friend of mine and he is someone I have the utmost respect for. Therefore, I cannot sit idle about this issue. Especially, since there currently are other political candidates’ names displayed prominently (and in more public places than a dorm room door) around campus.
We are encouraged by the College to promote ideas, not people. What is forgotten in this tagline is that names come to represent ideas, both negative and positive (i.g. George Washington, Che Guevara , Pancho Villa, Adolf Hitler, Martin Luther King Jr.). If we as students cannot show support for political candidates by name, then I call for an end to the Student Senate, Homecoming Court, and any other committee/group that has votes cast for it. Taking the example further, any sort of team (amateur or professional), campus/local/national group, or names on dormitory doors must immediately be taken down. My examples show clear hypocrisy when it comes to the "ideas, not people" belief Coe College promotes. Campaigns for Student Senate include students handing out and displaying the names of candidates they are voting for. Homecoming Court is based entirely on the names of the students who are nominated to the Court and no ideas at all.
Coe College must better train their staff and representatives better to handle situations like this. As a campus, we face many problems, but representing a political candidate is not a serious problem we face as a community. I would like a shift of focus for the College; focusing on the predatory sexual acts that occur nearly every weekend by members of Coe' community as well as an increased focus on stopping hate speech.
It is sad for me to say this is the most disappointed I’ve ever been in Coe College, and is the first time I am not proud to call myself a Kohawk due to the pettiness of the institution I will earn my degree from.
Sincerely,
#LetHimSpeak
