To the Case Western Reserve Community:
I have been reflecting all of last night and this morning on the disturbing events that took place yesterday in Washington, D.C., and around the country. Like most people, I was saddened and horrified by the utter chaos and violent attacks on our democracy, especially the breach of the U.S. Capitol Building by dangerous and thoughtless people who can only be described as thugs.
This is not the America most of us know and love. We are better than this, but yesterday revealed the dark side of what we, our country and democracy, could become unless we change our direction.
We cannot ignore the rule of law, the Constitution, common decency, civil discourse, and racial and socio-economic disparities and hope that things in our country will get better on their own.
As an institution of higher education, it is essential for us to see yesterday’s events as a crucial teachable moment. What has gone wrong in the past that precipitated this dark moment in our history? Is it a lack of moral and competent leadership, an inability to disagree without demonizing, an unwillingness to search for the truth, a lack of vision and values that can unify us, all of the above, or something else? Whatever it is, we must acknowledge and mitigate the damage it is causing our country.
As someone who has devoted his entire life to trying to educate the next generation of leaders for our nation and the world, I will continue to reflect on what I learned from yesterday’s events. Most likely, it will change my own behavior and approach to teaching to better prepare current and future leaders. Words of condemnation are not enough to address what happened yesterday, but changes in behavior can and will make a difference.
The first steps toward those changes are learning and understanding. Tomorrow Provost Ben Vinson III—also our Hiram C. Haydn Professor of History—will share his thoughts about how Case Western Reserve can engage in this moment as a community dedicated to knowledge and discovery.
For now, I encourage those who want to speak with someone during this difficult time to reach out to our university services. Students can contact a counselor on call by dialing 216.368.5872; faculty and staff can dial 1.800.227.6007. Both are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Scott Cowen
Interim President