The Executive Council of the Faculty Senate adopted the "Statement of the Faculty Senate Against Intolerance" Monday.
Executive Council Chair Houston G. Wood said the purpose of the statement is to demonstrate that faculty members will not stand for acts of intolerance and the Senate does not condone the recent rash of racial discrimination. He also said he empathizes with those who have been subjected to injustice or fear by these incidents.
"We want them to know the larger community supports them," Wood said.
One of the goals of the Senate's statement are to make the offenders realize their actions are opposed by the faculty as well as to make the victims of such acts of intolerance feel supported, Wood said.
Wood said he believes faculty members were "appalled" by the incidents and that it is their responsibility to make all students feel welcome. Accordingly, the Executive Council decided it needed to set an example for the community.
"Being a model of behavior is part of our teaching role," he said.
Executive Council Past Chair Marcia Day Childress said the Senate created the statement to inform the faculty that their representatives are strongly opposed to these incidents and want to remedy the situation.
The Senate's statement also sends a message to the University community that faculty members take this issue seriously and are dedicated to both tolerance and diversity, Childress said.
Though she was disappointed the incidents have occurred, Childress said she is glad students appear more willing to report acts of intolerance now than they were in the past.
Wood said the acts of intolerance that took place earlier this month and in late August prompted the Executive Council to generate the statement. The members of the Executive Council communicated via e-mail, and it became clear they would need to take action before the next regular meeting of the full Senate.
Childress said she believes it does not matter what the source of the present problem is but rather how the University community responds to these recent acts of intolerance.
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