We protest the punishments given to Lou Henriques and Thaddeus Pryor as deeply inappropriate. We urge President Tiefenthaler to accept their apologies, to show mercy, and to restore them quickly to the student body so that they may be a part of the necessary campus dialogue. We repudiate racism and affirm the importance of civility, but we fear the arbitrary power embodied in these recent punishments.
Here are some links to various items that give background to the case.
Thad's Appeal: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xbbgItEbGf0Yt6...
FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights in Education) Press Release: https://www.thefire.org/colorado-college-suspends-...
Gazette Article: http://gazette.com/student-suspended-from-colorado..
Thank you all for your support.
Updates
Reached 250 supporters
December 8, 2015
Reached 100 supporters
December 8, 2015
December 7, 2015
We are approaching one hundred signatures which will provide the necessary threshold to formally deliver this request to the administration. Please direct this page to members of the campus community today so we can finalize the delivery list before the next meeting.
96 Comments
I've known Thad since he was 10 years old and have watched him grow into a well-balanced, generous and open-minded individual. He's ambitious, self-aware and kind hearted. Although he's made a stupid mistake, the six seconds he spent typing a crude joke should not define his future.
I am a CC Alum and support the need to take seriously racism on campus but the punishment in this case does not fit the offense. It sends the wrong message to students and the community about what CC stands for. Please change this decision now.
As an alumnus, this action as it has been publicized does not represent the school I attended and support.. Until some further resolution with reasonable due process is implemented, I am withholding any further financial support.
I would hope that the Colorado College Administration allows these students to return to campus and use the incidents to open real dialog and increase inclusiveness. The exceptionally harsh treatment and silencing of these young students will only create divisiveness and harden sides.
To the administration: Using two students as scapegoats for a larger racial problem doesn't make you "tough on racism," it shows that you care more about your reputation than education.
Letter to President Tiefenthaler Extremely Disappointed Alumnist This is a long letter, but I think its worth reading if you are truly interested in the issue of free speech on CC's Campus. This Letter is being CC'd to every member of the Board and Faculty. Feel free to comment via e-mail if you agree or disagree. I love free speech of any stripe. -------------------------------- Dear President Tiefenthaler and Colorado College Administration, I’m a proud graduate of Colorado College. I’ve always been proud of the school —proud of the broad minded, “liberal arts” education it afforded me. CC’s greatest gift to me, was to open my mind to ideas, cultures, philosophies, and politics to which my young mind had never been exposed. The cross disciplinary perspective of a liberal-arts education offers unparalleled opportunities for intercultural engagement. Personal interactions, in and outside of the classroom promote exposure to diverse social environments where students engage in dialogue about new ideas and complex issues. In this academic and social environment, students become more adept at understanding multiple perspectives and more capable of critical thinking in ways that enhance perspective, quality of life, and success in a diverse world of work and community. For example, I took a political science class during my tenure from a visiting professor who was a self-described, devote communist. His views about virtually everything were the polar opposite of my own. And while his extremist views did not cause me to radically alter my own, the class discussions debate the pros and cons of both proved to be among some of the most personally enriching and enlightening of my 4 years at CC. I grew tremendously as a person once planted in the fertile CC soil of free thought, free expression and tolerance —tolerance for even those opinions with which I strongly disagreed. To me, Colleges and Universities should serve has society last safe harbor for
Do the right thing, admit your mistake, and let these kids back in school.
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We protest the punishments given to Lou Henriques and Thaddeus Pryor as deeply inappropriate. We urge President Tiefenthaler to accept their apologies, to show mercy, and to restore them quickly to the student body so that they may be a part of the necessary campus dialogue. We repudiate racism and affirm the importance of civility, but we fear the arbitrary power embodied in these recent punishments.
Here are some links to various items that give background to the case.
Thad's Appeal: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xbbgItEbGf0Yt6...
FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights in Education) Press Release: https://www.thefire.org/colorado-college-suspends-...
Gazette Article: http://gazette.com/student-suspended-from-colorado..
Thank you all for your support.
Updates
Reached 250 supporters
December 8, 2015
Reached 100 supporters
December 8, 2015
December 7, 2015
We are approaching one hundred signatures which will provide the necessary threshold to formally deliver this request to the administration. Please direct this page to members of the campus community today so we can finalize the delivery list before the next meeting.
96 Comments
With these ridiculous expulsions, CC has lost the chance to lead a campus-wide and national dialogue about casually committed racism. Instead, the school my son attended has opened itself to national ridicule.
I've known Thad since he was 10 years old and have watched him grow into a well-balanced, generous and open-minded individual. He's ambitious, self-aware and kind hearted. Although he's made a stupid mistake, the six seconds he spent typing a crude joke should not define his future.
I am a CC Alum and support the need to take seriously racism on campus but the punishment in this case does not fit the offense. It sends the wrong message to students and the community about what CC stands for. Please change this decision now.
As an alumnus, this action as it has been publicized does not represent the school I attended and support.. Until some further resolution with reasonable due process is implemented, I am withholding any further financial support.
I would hope that the Colorado College Administration allows these students to return to campus and use the incidents to open real dialog and increase inclusiveness. The exceptionally harsh treatment and silencing of these young students will only create divisiveness and harden sides.
To the administration: Using two students as scapegoats for a larger racial problem doesn't make you "tough on racism," it shows that you care more about your reputation than education.
Letter to President Tiefenthaler Extremely Disappointed Alumnist This is a long letter, but I think its worth reading if you are truly interested in the issue of free speech on CC's Campus. This Letter is being CC'd to every member of the Board and Faculty. Feel free to comment via e-mail if you agree or disagree. I love free speech of any stripe. -------------------------------- Dear President Tiefenthaler and Colorado College Administration, I’m a proud graduate of Colorado College. I’ve always been proud of the school —proud of the broad minded, “liberal arts” education it afforded me. CC’s greatest gift to me, was to open my mind to ideas, cultures, philosophies, and politics to which my young mind had never been exposed. The cross disciplinary perspective of a liberal-arts education offers unparalleled opportunities for intercultural engagement. Personal interactions, in and outside of the classroom promote exposure to diverse social environments where students engage in dialogue about new ideas and complex issues. In this academic and social environment, students become more adept at understanding multiple perspectives and more capable of critical thinking in ways that enhance perspective, quality of life, and success in a diverse world of work and community. For example, I took a political science class during my tenure from a visiting professor who was a self-described, devote communist. His views about virtually everything were the polar opposite of my own. And while his extremist views did not cause me to radically alter my own, the class discussions debate the pros and cons of both proved to be among some of the most personally enriching and enlightening of my 4 years at CC. I grew tremendously as a person once planted in the fertile CC soil of free thought, free expression and tolerance —tolerance for even those opinions with which I strongly disagreed. To me, Colleges and Universities should serve has society last safe harbor for
Do the right thing, admit your mistake, and let these kids back in school.
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With these ridiculous expulsions, CC has lost the chance to lead a campus-wide and national dialogue about casually committed racism. Instead, the school my son attended has opened itself to national ridicule.