The Eastern Michigan University divisions of Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and Enrollment Management hosted “Continuing the Conversation: A Forum on Civility and Respect” in the Student Center Ballroom last Wednesday. The forum included a panel made up of representatives from different organizations on campus, as well as professors of various departments. This was the follow-up to the first forum that dealt with a controversial comic published in The Eastern Echo. Reginald Barnes, director of diversity and community involvement, was the first panelist to respond to a question posed by the moderator, professor Ronald Woods. Although the title of the forum suggested civility and respect were the focus, Barnes had a different view. “Support, appreciation and nurturance are the three words I would add to civility and respect,” Barnes said. “Respect should be the minimum goal for us to reach.”
Barnes also said he did not mean respect would imply everyone agrees with one another. “In any group where you have a lot of people, there’s often differences in opinion,” Barnes explained. “The problem is that differences in opinion can be equated with incivility and disrespect.”
Another member of the panel was Mary Larkin, the Eastern Michigan University LGBT coordinator. Larkin, like Barnes, was of the opinion that respect and civility were not sufficient for creating a healthy civic culture. “When I think of civility, I think of my divorced parents in a room together,” Larkin said. “We should be aiming higher.”
Larkin also pointed out that the impact of civility and respect on campus goes far beyond just those who are directly involved with issues. “Not just the people affected are the ones that care,” Larkin said.
Linda Pritchard, department head of women’s studies at Eastern Michigan University, unlike Barnes and Larkin, spent her portion of the discussion providing some defense to the ideals of civility and respect.
“Let us remember that civility and respect are not insignificant,” Pritchard said. “When we are yelling at each other, not much gets done.” Pritchard was quick to acknowledge the goal of creating a more healthy civic culture is not an easy one.
“Deep-seated prejudices and value differences are not something that will be eradicated overnight, but a time will come that you have the courage to stand up,” Pritchard said. Judy Foster-Davis, professor of marketing and member of the panel believed sensitivity was an additional ideal to be attained by members of the community. Foster-Davis was more focused on the role of media specifically with regards to the comic published in the Eastern Echo. “Anything that bears the name of Eastern reflects on the university, and an understanding of the history of the images is imperative in order to make more sensitive judgments,” Foster-Davis said. Shanita Williams was the only student representative on the panel and she believed there should be more focus on the historical context related to what is said and printed. Williams also believed more forums and discussions should be held to deal with controversial topics around campus.
“If we continue to have civic dialogue there will be less problems reflected by it,” Williams said.
