The Strike's Lack of Open Discussion Undermines Community Trust

2/1/2021

The Strike’s Lack of Open Discussion Undermines Community Trust – Haverford and Bryn Mawr Bi-College News

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The Strike’s Lack of Open
Discussion Undermines Community
Trust
Published on November 6, 2020 — in Haverford/Opinion — by The
Bi-College News

By a group of Haverford students (see below)
https://bicollegenews.com/2020/11/06/the-strikes-lack-of-open-discussion-undermines-community-trust/

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2/1/2021

The Strike’s Lack of Open Discussion Undermines Community Trust – Haverford and Bryn Mawr Bi-College News

Editor’s note: the opinions expressed herein do not necessarily re ect those of the editorial board of The
Bi-College News. See here for a summary of the strike referred to in this article.

Dear Haverford Community,
The students who are writing this document are completely in
support of material, systemic change. As has been made clear,
Haverford and the United States are plagued by systemic
racism, and it must be addressed now. We believe that this
entails coming together for an active, respectful discourse. We
hold that the act of silencing other voices and making ad
hominem attacks is counterproductive because it severely
detracts from our collective power.
We write to you with concern over the harmful climate that has
overtaken our campus in the past week. At this critical moment
in our community’s and our country’s history, we have an
obligation to see through changes that we, as individuals, see
t for the moment. While we will never all agree on the best
way to improve our community, we can agree that the route to
the best solutions will always involve spirited debate and
thoughtful discourse. We are disappointed that neither has
occurred in the midst of this strike, and we are concerned that
the mutual trust necessary for meaningful change is being lost.
The organizers of the strike actively subdue any sort of
criticism of their movement. They have largely done so by
stating that “you either support the liberation of Black people
and Indigenous people, or POC, or you do not” (HC Strike FAQ).
They have also said in the FAQ that “ignorance” is the cause of
any disagreement with the strike and that those who disagree
have a “lack of social consciousness.” They write that
disagreement is “malicious” and “harmful.”
To say that, to support BIPOC students, one must support this
speci c strike for this speci c set of demands, denies the
legitimacy of individual moral decisions. By saying that only
ignorance or racism could lead anyone to disagree, the
organizers ask those who question the strike’s e cacy to either
accept ostracism on campus or to discard their own moral
judgments. There is no room for critical inquiry when only one
answer is acceptable; there is also no way to correct errors in a
movement that sees all criticism as illegitimate.
This puts many students—especially BIPOC students who do
not support the strike—in an extremely di cult position. What
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2/1/2021

The Strike’s Lack of Open Discussion Undermines Community Trust – Haverford and Bryn Mawr Bi-College News

do the organizers say about BIPOC students who oppose the
strike? They do not see their opposition as legitimate. Those
BIPOC students that do not support the strike are then faced
with a decision to either speak their minds or face becoming
pariahs amongst their own friends. How can the strike—which
derives its legitimacy from its claim that what BIPOC students
want is what should be done (an unfair assumption that BIPOC
students are an ideological monolith)—simply disregard the
opinions of BIPOC peers who don’t support it?
As a result of the organizers’ resistance to open debate, many
students feel intimidated and do not speak their minds even if
they agree with the strike’s demands but have disagreements
with the strike’s methods. Some students on the o cial list of
strikers have privately expressed objections to the strike’s
methods but are afraid to do so openly out of fear of being shut
down or, in the case of BIPOC students, labeled as embracing
appeasement. Some organizers claim that calls for respectful
discourse is “tone policing” BIPOC students. Certainly, we
agree that no student should moderate their views to conform
with the mainstream mindset; that is, in fact, the purpose of
this piece. And we recognize that big changes sometimes
necessitate being uncomfortable, but it is important to allow
respectful, decent discussion in order to uphold our values of
trust, concern, and respect. Changing this place for the better
necessitates respectful and passionate discourse.
Together, we can achieve the best solution to our deep-set
problems through honest and open discourse. To prevent such
discourse is an open attack on our important values of trust,
concern, and respect. We all want Haverford to be a better place
for BIPOC students, but that can’t happen if the discourse
around the change is so actively harmful to our trust in one
another. Trust, most fundamentally, is the belief that other
people are doing their best or what they think is right; we
cannot have any kind of community without that trust.
Meaningful change cannot be carried out without such trust.
It’s not too late to change the course and embrace these values,
propelling our community forward into a place where we can
have both honest discussion and improve the material
condition for BIPOC students.
Signed,
Students for Trust, Concern, and Respect

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