A Statement from BSC President Daniel B. Coleman

For Immediate Release
May. 17, 2019

Dear BSC Community,

A recent posting by the BSC College Republicans to their Instagram account has caused heated debate on our campus. I think this posting gives me an opportunity to address several important issues that face our community today.

First, an email response I wrote to a student concludes with the line, “I am here to help prepare students deal with it.” In my haste to respond promptly to this student who had reached out, I inadvertently left off the word “to.” I had no intention to ever tell a student to “deal with it,” on any issue. I was referring to our role as educators to prepare students to handle difficult situations such as language that offends. Students frequently write me emails. I enjoy responding to them with my views. I understand that I take risks in doing so, including the risk of using ambiguous language. I will continue to communicate directly with students, and will make every effort to be precise and respectful.

Second, Birmingham-Southern is a “safe place.” This means that we will do everything possible to protect your physical safety. This means this is a place where you are encouraged to be yourself; you are encouraged to develop your views and express them. By definition, a “safe place” is not a place where you are not going to be offended. By definition, if we encourage freedom of expression, we have to protect expression with which we disagree. Expression that does not offend does not need protection.

Notwithstanding, expression meant to provoke rather than encourage discourse does not move our community forward. It divides. It is up to the community itself to take care of provocative discourse.

As educators, it is our job to prepare you for the world. As I mentioned above, it is our job to make you safe. However, we cannot protect you from ideas and language that may offend you. We cannot keep you in your comfort zone. In fact, we must do the opposite. Leaving your comfort zone is how you learn, how you grow, and how you become stronger. We are here to help you develop your beliefs, and to help you to develop tools to defend those beliefs.

In one short week, more than 300 of you will graduate and leave the Hilltop. In a short period of time, the rest of you will follow. You will all enter a world that is both exciting and hostile. As BSC graduates, you will enter this world with a clear mission to have an impact and make it better. We want you to be ready.

Daniel B. Coleman
President
Birmingham-Southern College