When I was in high school, I made some pretty racist remarks pretty openly and I understandably lost friends for it. It was a rough time, but the consequences were what I needed as a person to grow and learn from my mistakes. If there is anything that that time taught me, it was that I needed to be more considerate about what I said and what I did, not just around friends, but in every aspect of my life. I took a long, hard look at myself and I didn’t like the person staring back at me. So I changed.
Since that time, I have committed myself to help make the world a better and more inclusive place, trying to elevate and accentuate the voices of POC and other minorities in my community. It is a continuous process and I am proud of how far I have come, but I also know that, myself included, everyone has room to grow and move forward from mistakes. The only way I was able to do that was by listening and engaging with voices I could learn from. I learned from history the effects of those kinds of seemingly one-off comments and behaviors.
However, there are definite levels about what is a forgivable and understandable mistake. What Mr. Garthwait did was flat-out wrong.
Image Via: Garthwait Leadership Center
Dressing as a Nazi, even in years past, is an offense to all of the people who suffered unspeakable horrors under the Third Reich. Even with the context of the show Hogan’s Heroes, which took place in a POW camp run by the Nazis, there is no excuse for this kind of costume. It doesn’t even connect properly to the show’s plot.
This ‘incident’ happened in 1980. Forty years after the Holocaust and in a period where living family members, probably even parents or younger grandparents remembered vividly what happened during World War Two. His classmates probably had family members who were directly affected by the genocide. They probably went home and saw the first hand effects.
Yes, he apologized. Yes, he stepped down. But I don’t think that that is the right path forward right now, five days after this was uncovered, and two days after it was announced to the student body.
Returning his money, as some have suggested as a possible step forward, is productive to no one. That is money back in his pocket that he can use for whatever he wants, basically a reward for this behavior. Maybe a better path forward would be to put the money to use in the areas that have been directly affected by this event. Everything has been moving exceptionally fast when we have not been able to really address and think about what the college should do moving forward. If there is anything we should take away from his apology, we should do as Mr. Garthwait asks and use the opportunity to take a long hard look at Gettysburg College and all of the ways that we can grow and make the campus more inclusive. We are here to learn from history, not to hide it under the rug. That being said, there are some steps that can taken to make this campus reflect the values it preaches.
For example, the swastikas in Breidenbaugh and Plank Gym, the gut reaction, even with the religious symbolism, is a cringe and a ‘WTF.’ Why is there no explanation from the college about this? Even a plaque would do the trick to help spread the knowledge and address something that an uninformed observer wouldn’t know.
Image Via: The Cupola
We also need to address how this was never noticed or stopped before. Why did it take so long to find out and address? How did it even end up in the yearbook? Was there no one who saw a problem with releasing the yearbook with this photo in it? What circumstances allowed this come about? What else is lurking in the yearbooks past?
Image Via: The Gettysburgian (Garthwait is on the far right)
Gettysburg College is home to a vibrant and proud Jewish community and it is our gentile responsibility to make sure that everyone feels safe to practice their religion and be proud of their heritage. Things like this only make it harder to put down the voices that would demonize friends, family, and even acquaintances. It normalizes it and this quick, blanket reaction that feels more like trying to deal with this as quick as possible and sweep it under the rug doesn’t help either.
We have to face this head on, no matter what ugliness might be lurking behind the issue and what ended up coming out. We owe it to everyone who is marginalized to make sure that nothing like what Mr. Garthwait did happens again and we can proudly face our own reflection in the mirror years down the road.