Ryan ChartrandDear Warren J. Baker:
I recently read your one-page “advertisement” about diversity that came out on April 2, and I would like to take the time to express my opinion to you.
First of all, I am particularly pleased and impressed that you have indeed read the Cal Poly mission statement and are able to quote it. I am also pleased that you are particularly concerned about the values contained within the Cal Poly mission statement, especially values like mutual respect and civic engagement. In fact, I actually agree with your statement that “far too often, campus public discussions and debates about these issues have been characterized by poorly informed, emotional and even hurtful rhetoric and symbolism.”
Unfortunately, Mr. Baker, I don’t know if we can correct this hurtful rhetoric or misinformation so easily. For instance, instead of having a dialogue with students about, oh, Cal Poly’s deal with a certain Middle Eastern university and this proposed plan’s inherent lack of respect for the values of diversity, you and your administration have chosen to ignore your students’ concerns.
Instead of allowing students to express their opinion and ask questions at last quarter’s Academic Senate meeting, the students were ignored (not one single student question was allowed!). Instead of asking or informing students about a deal between Cal Poly and Jubail University College, you have buried the issue, refused to talk to us face-to-face, and have failed to release the most current details of the contract under negotiation. I am certainly glad you have taken the time to write a series of letters or statements personally directed toward me, but I would honestly prefer a more personal experience (an actual meeting would be nice!).
I am glad that in your letter you were aware that we are indeed just beginning the 21st century (I mean, when I woke up today, it shocked me when I realized it was 2008 and not 1996) and that we live in a rapidly changing world. In fact, your students, who interact with this environment every day and who are entering this workforce, may be even more aware of it than you are.
That’s why students care when the rights of women, Jews and homosexuals, as well as the values of diversity, are threatened to be sold for Saudi dollars. It’s for the same reason that we are concerned when you want to start a program that doesn’t promote a cross-cultural exchange (a deal where no Saudi students come to Cal Poly or Cal Poly students go to Saudi Arabia seems to contradict the university’s position that this deal is all about cross-cultural exchange). Instead, we become very concerned when Cal Poly attempts to appease a Saudi Arabian university that operates in clear violation of Cal Poly’s mission statement (trust me, free inquiry and cultural diversity isn’t really up to par at Jubail University College or in the rest of Saudi Arabia).
Maybe, Mr. Baker, you’re shy, you don’t like seeing students in public, or you’re just too busy to talk to your students. I guess that’s understandable. I remember last year there was a $50 reward offered by the Mustang Daily for the first student to be photographed with you and the April 1, 2007 issue of the Mustang Daily. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, no student was able to collect on this reward. I guess students just thought it was an impossible mission.
If you do read the Mustang Daily, Mr. Baker (and I hope you do, considering the fact that you write letters to me in it), I ask you to formally announce a debate or forum, in the spirit of civic engagement and mutual respect, where students can openly discuss the issues of diversity with you – face to face. I also sincerely hope that you did not sign a deal with Jubail University College without consulting the students of your university or even the concerns of your faculty, and that a signed contract is not sitting on your desk at this moment. I also hope you didn’t just copy and paste the phrases “mutual respect” and “civic engagement” from Cal Poly’s mission statement without the intent of honoring these principles.
Finally, I really do hope you want an open dialogue and that you do value diversity in its myriad of forms. Of course, if you do not wish to meet with your students, that is regrettable and unfortunate. In that case, my only request is that your future letters involve less copying and pasting from university codes and statements and more personality and pizzazz.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, Mr. Baker.
Sincerely,
Brian B. Eller
Brian Eller is a materials engineering senior and a conservative columnist for the Mustang Daily.