HAPPY PLACE INTACT — The Weekly Opine

The right to protest on college campuses (L) is sacred in America. But it should not overshadow the core mission of educating students (R) seen here taking graduation photos. (Photos credit The Weekly Opine)

The mission trumps protests

Today, I return from spring break with a refreshed and enlightened soul. Still buzzing from two trips to my happy place, Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. And two visits with my aging aunt and uncle in Indianapolis. It was back home again in Indiana a month early. (The official Back Home Again in Indiana tour takes place in a few weeks when I make my annual pilgrimage to attend the Indianapolis 500).

To say campus protests ruined my second journey to IU would be untrue. Yes, last weekend we saw protesters and even walked to Dunn Meadow, the central gathering place for protesters. Strolling across Dunn Meadow, from one side of the protest to the other, we came shoulder-to-shoulder with a few protesters on the perimeter. We remained on the outer edge of Dunn Meadow while snapping a few photos. Bethanny and I were amused wondering if the student protesters believed we were spies or somehow associated with IU’s administration. My attire included black slacks, dress shoes and a jacket. My transition glasses transitioning to dark lenses probably didn’t help.

Nonetheless, it was enlightening being near, but not embedded, with the protesters. (The last time I was this close to protesters was back in 2018 when covering Father Michael Pfleger’s shut down of Chicago’s Dan Ryan Expressway.) When we arrived at Dunn Meadow, tents had been hastily removed by police, after IU’s administration made an abrupt change to a 55-year-old policy governing protests at Dunn Meadow. Nonetheless, approximately two hundred Pro-Palestine protesters were shouting slogans and displaying signs. Up on the sidewalk running along 7th Street, with a bird’s eye view, were about three dozen Pro-Israel students observing and occasionally shouting at their adversaries.

I have no problem with campus protests so long as everybody keeps their cool. Pro-Palestine, Pro-Israel, administrators, faculty, campus police, local police, state police and, God forbid, the National Guard… add up to a potentially toxic stew if passions become unbridled. Every day now across the country, the environment at some protests feels like sticks of dynamite waiting to be lit. Hopefully, emotions won’t spill into violence like what we witnessed at UCLA earlier this week.

Arguably the greatest entrance to any of America’s colleges and universities: Sample Gates at Indiana University. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

On the other hand

Obviously, this is a stressful moment for everyone involved, particularly administrators, faculty and students. And clearly, me rolling into town for a few days is not the same as living there day-to-day. Still, the mission of universities continues, punctuated by the teeming number of students preparing to graduate this spring, and the undergraduates studying abroad and vying for internships at home.

Commencement ceremonies will surely be different, with at least one university – the University of Southern California – cancelling its commencement. Prior to announcing commencement is off, USC cancelled a graduation speech by valedictorian Asna Tabassum, a supporter of Palestinians. Universities have announced plans for tightened security and designated areas for protesters. Like spring dandelions, protests are popping up at a growing number of schools. Now, even some high school students are holding demonstrations.

But the mission is intact. I saw evidence of this at IU a few weeks ago, attending The Media School’s annual scholarship awards ceremony. It was a vivid reminder of the talent, commitment and enthusiasm of college students and the faculty who teach them. I encountered many students who were happy and joyful. Near Bloomington’s town square, the people at my favorite breakfast spot had the same upbeat attitude as always. Patron’s laughter filled the restaurant. Yes, the undercurrent of the protests and life’s other challenges exists. But it did not overtake the pleasant vibe I always feel when visiting IU-Bloomington.

(L) The recipient of my scholarship along with me and the dean of IU’s Media School. (R) Passing the board chairperson baton to my vice chair last weekend. (Photos credit Indiana University Media School, Bethanny A.)

My public relations scholarship was awarded to a young woman completing her sophomore year. She is a prestigious Ernie Pyle scholar and will intern in London this summer. There were approximately 150 students at the ceremony with a variety of educational interests, among them broadcast journalism, production, public relations, investigative reporting, film-making and video game software development. It was quite impressive. These students are, as The Media School Dean David Tolchinsky says, “scholars of media and creators of media.”

Which is not to say some of these students have not or will not participate in protests. But at the scholarship awards ceremony, the mission of Indiana University was all that mattered; educate and prepare young people for a bright future.

Last weekend, giving opening remarks during my final meeting as chair of the College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Advisory Board, I commented that protests should not overshadow the core mission of the university. While protests have been a part of America’s fiber for nearly 250 years, educating and preparing students for life, and successful careers, is at the heart of what colleges and universities do. Protests should not change that.