Last Friday, Students for Ending the War in Iraq (SEWI) organized a successful demonstration in New Haven which was covered by both the New Haven Register and the New Haven Advocate. We thought it would be great if a link to the article was posted in the “Headlines” section of the University’s homepage to advertise student achievement and involvement with the larger community. To our great dismay, the director of media relations, David Pesci, informed us that “we’ll have to pass on this piece. The university is very careful not to openly take any political stance or promote any political agenda.”
Clearly, posting the article would not constitute a political statement by the University but would only show that students had successfully organized a newsworthy activity. By Pesci’s logic, any newspaper that covers an anti-war demonstration is endorsing it. If Pesci truly wished to remain politically neutral, he would post any newsworthy article related to Wesleyan.
Vice President of Public Affairs Justin Harmon also responded, with an entirely different explanation. He wrote that “Wesleyan has a communication strategy aimed primarily at promoting academic strength of the university.” We suggest that Harmon consult the University’s definition of “academic strength,” which identifies ten essential capabilities as fundamental to a liberal arts education. One of these capabilities is Effective Citizenship: “The ability to analyze and develop informed opinions on the political and social life of one’s local community, one’s country, and the global community, and to engage in constructive action if appropriate.”
This is a clear instance of the administration’s discouragement of political activism.
PEACE
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