|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Principles of the MIT Community |
|
LETTER TO ALL MIT FACULTY AND STUDENTS FROM CHANCELLOR CLAY, DEAN REDWINE, AND PROF. GRAVES (MARCH 13, 2003) March 13, 2003 Dear Colleagues: Over the next few months, we anticipate that many members of our campus community might wish to engage in various extraordinary activities and events, such as demonstrations and protests, walk-outs and teach-ins, and various educational forums. We respect the right of members of the community to express their views. These might be anti-war or pro-war or be related to other issues. The events might also be on campus or off. Some are already planned. At the same time, many other members of our campus community will want to continue with their educational activities without participating in any activity. We must work to balance the interests and rights of all members of our community. In anticipation of these challenges, we write to you to convey our expectations on behavior and conduct with respect to classes and other academic exercises. Students enrolled in a class remain responsible for keeping up with the work in the class. For instance, a student who decides to engage in a demonstration should not expect to be excused from any class requirements, assignments or exams that conflict with the event; rather the student should contact the faculty member and make arrangements to cover any work or class requirements that are missed. We expect that the process by which students and faculty resolve these matters should be no different from what happens under normal circumstances when a student needs to be absent. As with any type of extracurricular or personal conflict with a class, we expect the faculty member to be reasonable and understanding. Given the extraordinary circumstances we may face with a war, we ask faculty to reflect on our overall educational mission and the welfare of our students. At this time, since expectations may vary from one faculty member to the next, we think it would be useful for the faculty to remind students about their expectations regarding attendance, assignments and exams, as well as to discuss possible contingencies in light of impending events. Such proactive communication could alleviate any possible misunderstanding later. There may also be instances where faculty may elect to cancel classes for their own reasons. In such cases, we expect that faculty will schedule and announce make-up classes. There are several other matters we want to convey. We have students, staff and faculty from dozens of countries and from a variety of ethnic and religious backgrounds. We have members of the community who are in the military. Passionate speech and public dialogue may make some people uncomfortable or even fearful about how open or welcoming our community is in fact. Therefore, we urge faculty to take the appropriate opportunities to address international issues and conflict in classes, open forums and other settings. We urge faculty and students to be mindful of the need to maintain an open and respectful setting that befits the values we share as an academic community. Occasionally, this will require you to point out that it is not a good idea to press the choice between the right of free speech and the right to live and work in an open and supportive environment. This will require that we remind each other that what is said is not necessarily what is heard. The maintenance of civility and mutual respect in class and in work and living settings will help us all make the most of a difficult situation. The faculty takes primary responsibility for the maintenance of a sense of community and for open and civil dialogue. Faculty may take some process guidance on this from: http://www.crlt.umich.edu/tragedydiscussion.html. Campus Police are supportive of this approach and expect to stay in the background. While some officers will be on hand in the event of large demonstrations or similar activities, their focus is on public safety. As faculty, we are the custodians of education and the community commons, and in this case our role is to help ensure that everyone can have their say without intimidation. Finally, we wish to remind the community that classrooms, labs and workplaces are venues for faculty, staff, and students to come together to learn, under the leadership and guidance of the faculty. Disruptions in academic or work settings are never appropriate. Please contact any of us if you have any questions or concerns. Phillip L. Clay Robert Redwine Stephen C. Graves |
|
|
|
|
|
|