i3,

accountable to one another, as well as to past and future students and fac—
ulty, on what defines the emotional climate of this campus.

So far I've been talking about what I think are problems in the emotional
climate in a way that I hope w'll promote discussion and constructive responses
I lay no claim to being precisely accurate in my analysis about exhibitionism
and emotional intimidation, nor have I suggested that I have solutions ready
at hand. About the question of preventing violence on the campus I haven‘t
spoken at all, partly because I do not regard such a possibility as consonant
with the style of this place, partly because whatever I say about it might be
regarded as provocative, or paranoid, or as a rigid set of prescriptions
which would be applicable to any or all circumstances. But I do have to say
that if there were such a thing as a seizure of a building or indeed any action
that could clearly be interpreted as an attempt to disrupt the activities of
this College and bring them to a standstill, I would move without hesitation
to stop it. In my absence, I would expect Dear: Wall or any properly desig—
nated person to proceed in the same way.

There is not much that can be said beyond these things. Definitions of
what is threatened disruption and what is actual disruption are conditioned
always by actual circumstances; and procedures for handling them have to be
similarly adaptable. I would always hope that persons thinking of disrup—
tive tactics would see the Foolishness of their ways before they go too far
and that other persons would advise them to have better sense and to keep
the possibility of discussion open. I would hope too that if we did have a
disruptive incident, we would be able to handle it internally, using our
procedures for hearing and judgment, and without the need of injunctions or
other actions by civil authorities. Obviously, if my hope proved a vain one,
I would not hesitate to have recourse to whatever civil actions appeared
warranted by the circumstances.

All that can really be said, therefore, is that as chief executive offiv
cer of the College I would be remiss in my responsibilities if I did not,
when the occasion aroset make a Judgment between what is simply dissent and
what is disruptive, and then act accordingly, quickly and positively, The
authority of this College is an idea, not a thing of physical power, and
those who would forcibly disrupt the College would be using it as a physi—
cal instrument to serve ends that the means itself would violate. Professor
Northrup Frye, in his ”Ethics of Change,” says it as well as anyone:

We still need loyalty to something wtth enough authority to
form a community. .something that fulfils and does not diminish
the individual. Such an authority can ultimately only be the
kind of authorit} that education embodies. The authority of the
logical argument, the repeatable experiment, the established
fact, the compelling work of art, is the only authority that ex~
acts no bows or salutes.

I appreciate the opportunity of writing you and would welcome discussing
these matters with any representative group of students or faculty.

Sincerely yours ,

50m

Glenn L Jgett
President

 

