Rao's Letter
Oh, so that's what we've had wrong all along!
We should treat each other with respect? Who would have ever thought?!
University President Michael Rao's letter in Monday's Central Michigan Life did little more than reiterate talking points from the past couple years.
And despite a bit of clever, but ultimately vacuous, wordplay concerning by whose criterion we should treat others, Rao's admonishments served little more than his image.
Of course many students wish to create a more welcoming environment. We, too, embrace diversity.
What people now need is not a restatement of beliefs already ardently held - students need action, or at least a plan of action. Not more fluff.
Within Rao's letter was a series of questions, such as "What visible actions will we as a university community take together? How will CMU send the message that it embraces diversity and all of our people?"
Any of these questions could have been the focus of a more meaningful statement.
It's not that Rao's intent was poor. His proposals are sincere, but sincerity alone is not enough for efficacy.
His leadership needs to be more than symbolic - it needs to be active. Instead of merely proposing a series of open-ended questions and challenges, Rao needs to take charge.
Instead of cycling through clichés, he needs to tackle one particular subject. The campus needs specifics; It needs a concrete plan, and it needs a letter expressing the particularities about this plan and the rationale behind its selection.
Students do not need more persuasion or flowery speech to convince them of the merit of diversity.
The campus climate, in order to actually be improved, must be more than the subject of grandiose rhetoric. It must the subject of reform, and Rao's letter was glaringly lacking in this regard.
