On an Apolitical Administration

This past Monday morning, Principal  William Rawson ignited campus discussion with a three-sentence-long email regarding sexual misconduct and Brett Kavanaugh:

"The recent Senate hearings on Supreme Court nominee Kavanaugh provide an appropriate context for reaffirming unequivocally that at Exeter we do not tolerate sexual misconduct or harassment in any form. This is a statement about values, basic decency, and respect – for ourselves and each other – every day, all the time. This is a statement of concern for every member of this community."

The email prompted some students to put up posters protesting the Academy’s response to sexual misconduct. Other Exonians criticized this statement for being apolitical. It is a valid point to say that the principal did not take a hard stance on the Kavanaugh case, but, this fact should be a cause for relief, not concern. As an academic institution, the administration is obligated to withhold political beliefs; it will only alienate students who have different perspectives and thus, harm their education. We students cannot attempt to lobby the administration into delivering a stronger message.

This is not to say that we cannot discuss the issues brought up by current events, including sexual misconduct, as a campus. We need to talk about issues together as a community, but,  education professionals should abstain from voicing their opinions regarding the event that started the conversation. Setting an example of that, Principal Rawson expressed  in his email that we condemn sexual misconduct and did the right thing by not elaborating on Kavanaugh. Although the Principal did not talk about initiatives for more discussions on sexual misconduct in that specific email, he rightly reaffirmed the Academy’s zero-tolerance policy.

What we should be most concerned with is creating well-publicized platforms for students to speak their minds and talk as a collective group. Though there was a group discussion about the Kavanaugh situation, it was not well-attended or well-publicized. In addition, neither Principal Rawson nor the people who put posters around campus talked about plans for how to deal with current events that clearly affect our student body. It is not required of anyone to provide opportunities for expressing political opinions or talking about sexual misconduct, but it should be expected of an institution of higher learning.

In summary, the principal should not speak on behalf of the Academy and himself in terms of stating a political opinion in an email to the school. For the sake of providing a proper education, the administration should never express a unified political position. But we should still talk about the issues underlying the political drama and stop polarizing each other over an email.