Evergreen Students Speak Out

Leftwing students, often acting like a violent mob, have tossed Evergreen State College into chaos the past few weeks.  Go here to read about it.  A handful of Evergreen students are fed up and are brave enough to sign an open letter:

To the world with their eyes towards Evergreen,
We will open this message by stating that we are not attempting to discard or discredit legitimate concerns of racism throughout society, however attention to rectifying these issues has been detracted from due to the events at Evergreen during the last two weeks. These events have not only damaged the credibility of those who want to address racial issues, but have also put a greater portion of the student body, staff and faculty at risk of bodily injury. Addressing the real issues has been made much more difficult due to a tendency for those disagreeing with the protesters or their methods to be labeled as being racist, which stifles expression and dissent while diluting and perverting the meaning of the term. Through abundant use or threat of the racism label, and an unwillingness of various individuals to contest such claims, the protesting group has held a stranglehold on the administration, which the protesters have used in an attempt to avoid responsibility and enact their agenda.

 
Those of us writing and in support of this letter have been appalled by the events which have transpired over the last two weeks starting May 14th, 2017 . These things include:

 
• The fashion in which these protests have been conducted and that groups of the protesters have gone beyond protesting to criminal action including verbally and physically harass and even physically assault other members of the student body.
• The extent to which the Administration has, through inaction, allowed student protestors to control campus, which has led to the campus being unsafe for all Students, Faculty and the Administration.

 
• The enablement of individuals to deflect criticism and avoid responsibility for their actions, perhaps out of fear of cries of discrimination based on race/sexuality/gender identity/disability status.

 
• The inability of the Administration, led by President George Bridges, to maintain a reasonable working relationship with student protest groups, faculty and the rest of the student body.

 
• The demands of the protesters have been met with little to no resistance except when George Bridges does not have unilateral power yet,

 
• The demands of the protesting group and the actions they have made do not represent the entire student body or even a majority of the student body.

 
• The decision of George Bridges to tie the hands of the Campus police when it comes to matters of anyone involved with the protests which allows fringe activists to commit crimes that go unpunished and denying students the access to protection from law enforcement officers.

 
• The decision of the Administration to stand down the police diminished protection offered by the L.E. officers to the campus community.

 
• The failure to fully empower and support Law Enforcement on campus has endangered both the officers and the campus community as a whole.

 
• The inability of the Administration to safely evacuate the campus after the threat
on Thursday 6/1/2017 where no obvious evacuation plan was in place.

 
• Teachers independently took charge of classes

 
• The parking lot was gridlocked which would have proved disastrous in the
case of an actual emergency.

 
• The vulnerability to and rampant exploitation of guilt-based manipulation based
upon aspects of identity beyond our control has allowed total control over the
Administration and a large portion of Faculty which has allowed for these
protesters to excuse their actions and avoid the consequences that the school
should be implementing.

 
• This is exemplified in the first line of the Faculty statement of solidarity with
students, “We acknowledge that all of us who have power within the
institution share responsibility for the racist actions of others. Furthermore,
those of us who are white bear a particularly large share of that
responsibility.” blaming the situation that some find themselves in on those
of a certain race that has no effect on their ability to create or change those
issues.

 
• We reject the McCarthy-esque witch-hunting which has taken place. Simply
crying racist has become sufficient to destroy credibility and empower
accusers. This has been accompanied by vigilante action against those
dubiously accused racism, and this behavior has not been reigned in by the
administration.

 
• The fact that the ability of the protester and subsets within to silence any
communication of different ideas with them in a decent matter and to slander
whoever opposes them by calling them “racists”, “Nazis” or part of the “alt-right”
and later excusing the actions they take against those individuals because of those
titles. (This includes pictures shared on social media to intimidate and threaten
violence upon others.)

 
Understandably, the outside world has responded negatively to the college’s
refusal to take control over the situation on campus, and now is questioning the value
of the education available at Evergreen. The actions of a few has unduly devalued the
degrees and hard work of students in the eyes of the general public. We cannot tolerate
this compromising of all of our hard work by radical elements.

 
A small, vocal, and even violent group of students has been allowed to speak for
all Evergreen students in a way that does not align with Evergreen’s core values and
founding principles. This behavior may be condoned by Bridges and some faculty, but
is not representative of the majority of faculty and members of the student body.
Throughout this conflict, our main desire remains the perpetuation of the fantastic
educational environment that Evergreen can provide. But now, due to a small group of
individuals allowed to run amok, who do not represent core Evergreen values of
inclusivity, equity and equality, the only thing recognizable to the outside world is
division, disrespect, and a culture which fosters behavior unbecoming of anyone.
We hope that our concerns are met with tolerance and open-mindedness, for
without us being able to have open discussions we will invariably fail our core purpose
as members of the Evergreen community. This cannot be allowed to happen, and we
must return to the guiding principles of our college. We have been failed by our
president, and we have been failed by elements of faculty and the student body. We
must have no further failure, and instead must return to progress and a free,
unhindered exchange of ideas. fostering a safe and inclusive learning environment for
all peoples and being able to listen to one another, especially with difficult issues to
face.

 
Evan Anderson
Connor Jaccard
Sam Naujokas
Nolan Lies
Alex Witherspoon
Grace Hanson
Ben Boutilier-Mow
Paige Whitener
Jenny Rodriguez
Kai-Avé Douvia
JT Cieciorka
Steve Coffman
Benjamin Boyce
Patrick Crawford
Ian McCalister
Joshua Myers
Eva Webb
With the support of other concerned students

Bravo ladies and gentlemen.  The only way to deal with storm troopers is to stand up to them, as is the case with any bullies.  You doing so is an indication that you have learned some lessons in your life that cannot be taught in classrooms.