Recently, there have been repeated incidents in Xavier Hall where hateful and derogatory terms were written on community walls for all residents to see. Not only does this action bring awkwardness and inconvenience to the dormitory residents involved, but also causes embarrassment for those that have any affiliation with the school.
The hateful, racist and derogatory remarks in Xavier Hall represent the opposite of a liberal education.
“A liberal education… frees a man from the prison-house of his class, race, time, place, background, family and even his nation,” great American educator, Robert Maynard Hutchins, said.
The students who repeatedly stooped to harass and demean fellow students do not belong in a college that values each person. That is the meaning of what Academic Dean Charlie McCormick said: “You showed us you don’t want to be in our community, so we will show you we don’t want you in our community.”
For the students who took part in the repeated incidents, McCormick conveyed that expulsion would be the consequence.
The essence of the college education is to absorb as much knowledge as possible in a free environment while also preparing for the life ahead. The most important component of the college design, however, is freedom.
Sadly, actions such as the ones that recently occurred on campus are not too rare on the Radnor campus. In 2003, a similar offense took place in the same dormitory which received a large amount of attention from not only the Cabrini community, but also the surrounding area.
It appears as if the incidents that occurred this year will not receive as much media attention, but this fact does not mean the crime is any less disgusting. The perpetrators of the offensive crime have yet to be found, but the school’s administration has not ceased in trying to find who committed the acts.
We all are aware of how our nation went and still is going through so much pain and struggle in the effort to eliminate racism and prejudice. It is truly alarming for many members of the Cabrini community that racially offensive actions still take place in the year 2005.
We must acknowledge that there is a long way to go towards racial harmony if racial insults still find a home in an environment that is supposed to be free and open for all to learn.
It is safe to say that all will agree there is no room for those members of the college community who committed the hateful acts. They have tampered with the education of those who desire a liberal and free learning experience. Also, personal insult was surely felt by members of the community that took offense to the intolerable words. These crimes will hopefully be the last to ever negatively affect the Cabrini community is such a way.
Posted to the web by Shane Evans
