This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Chatham chapter.
Recently, the president of Oklahoma Wesleyan University, Everett Piper, wrote an open letter entitled “This Is Not A Daycare. It’s A University!” I have many thoughts about this article from the timing of the letter’s release to the unprofessional word choice to the insane amount of logical fallacies used in such a short piece. But what this letter really made me think about is whether or not college students are “self-absorbed” and “narcissistic” like Everett’s letter says, or are we really fighting for something worthwhile when we raise our voices?
On one of many sides of this question, I would say it’s possible that we live in a fairly sensitive world. Our society can get confusing, frustrating, and at times seem like everyone is just complaining to reap the benefits of being a victim. It doesn’t help that it’s often the extremists and people spewing nonsense who gain the most attention (think: Starbucks red cups and war on Christmas).
On another side of the question, I would say our society is ever changing and groups of marginalized people who have never had the chance to be heard before are now letting the majority know what is offensive and what isn’t. Yes, these groups may face the internal dilemma of not having a unanimous agreement of what the identifiers think is acceptable, but I don’t think this calls for dismissal. There is a shift into the world where we won’t just sit and take what’s given to us. Many groups of people have fought so we wouldn’t have to do that.
Everett said, “Oklahoma Wesleyan is not a “safe place”, but rather, a place to learn: to learn that life isn’t about you, but about others…” While I agree that college is the place to learn about respect, empathy, and compassion, I think that the term “safe space” should not be used negatively. Why do students at any school have to give up having a safe space to have a learning environment? And don’t many protests rise from thinking of others?
Honestly, I’ve taken most of this letter with a grain of salt. The incident mentioned in the letter that looks to have started Everett’s rant seems to be specific to the “evangelical Christian university of the Wesleyan Church.” Not many schools would have the president talk about the way students feel during sermons, and being accommodating at the pulpit. Everett’s letter was the spark, but the fuel was an interaction I had right before I read the letter.
I write in many publications at my university because I feel like few people were listening to student’s voices. When I was discussing this with a staff member, they said something along the lines of “people like to complain” to me for my articles. I know they meant no harm, and they were mostly joking. But when did college students who are encouraged to “stand up for what you believe in” and “change the world as we know it” become self-absorbed, narcissistic weaklings? Why do the sounds of student’s voices turn into the sounds of whiny complaints?
I don’t know the answer to these questions. I do know that I think our generation is driven to make a change. We want to expose systematic oppression, give people human rights, open people’s eyes to the struggles of those living lives we don’t understand. I know that if we took the advice of every person telling us to settle down, nothing would ever move forward. I’m sure someone called and is still calling LGBT+ activists, black rights activists, disability rights activists, body positivity activists, and more groups of people whose feelings are hurt, so they make themselves into victims.
In the words of Zora Neale Hurston, “If you are silent about your pain, they’ll kill you and say you enjoyed it.”