Member-only story
Dear Education and Community-Organizing Comrades,
We must build a team and stand together to support inclusive learning environments.
Have you read the “Dear Colleague” love letter from Craig Trainor, the Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights with the United States Department of Education? The letter was released on Valentine’s Day and quickly circulated among higher education professionals. In the final minutes of our last all-staff meeting, a colleague passed copies of the letter around the boardroom.
As a staff member read passages aloud, my biology replied. My head filled with rage, and my hands itched with a desire to write. The letter’s phrases, such as “treating students differently on nebulous goals such as diversity, racial balancing, and social justice,” produced internal tension and provoked a need to reply.
I was not after blood or contemplating any form of a violent response. Violence doesn’t make sense to nonsensical threats. I left the meeting with an urge to do something.
After work, I abandoned the compulsion to react to Trainer’s letter. I tried to follow the advice I’ve delivered on this platform.
It’s important to keep our professional lives separate from personal affairs.
