Amid Contending Views, Respect Matters

By Dr. Melinda Treadwell

At Keene State, a new academic year is just weeks away. It is a time brimming with anticipation, optimism, and adventure for students, faculty, and staff.

As president of our state’s public liberal arts college, I, too, feel the energy the accelerating pace this time of year brings.

By the time our campus returns to familiar routines, we will also be a little more than two months from the U.S. presidential election on November 5th.

I keep these two realities in mind since they are not mutually exclusive.

Colleges and universities in the United States are charged with preparing their students for the future. Higher education is a forum for learning, questioning, and broadening our perspectives.

I ask that we keep ourselves open to the best our political process can offer. Engage and participate in the process but do so respectfully and in a spirit of comity that defines our unique communities and serves the greater good.”

– Dr. Melinda Treadwell

What is happening in our world, our politics, and how it touches our college and the greater community is top of mind for me, and a source of concern. The political spotlight is not dimming but intensifying. Our campus and region will wrestle with what to do when freedom of expression – a foundational value that benefits every voice – makes some feel unseen, unheard, unsafe … or that brings with it hazards we can’t anticipate.

Keene State’s strength – and the strength of the greater region – is seen in how we stand with one another despite differences, and how we choose openness and respect. It’s easy to be negative. To speculate. To draw lines and dig in. More than ever, we cannot allow divisions to widen.

So, we must adhere to principles and recommit to our strongest-held beliefs. I believe that speech protected by the First Amendment is the most fundamental constitutional right, arguably the most powerful tenet that helps hold together our democracy. And I know in today’s polarized climate, public views on free speech are full of contradiction, especially on college and university campuses.

Keene State College students will engage and their voices will be heard. That’s what we encourage and want. They will vote, too. In the 2020 presidential election, 68.7 percent of Keene State College students voted, a percentage north of the overall national average. We believe that all institutions of higher education have a responsibility to expose students to what is happening nationally and globally and to educate them so that they can be responsive citizens and contributors to a more peaceful and equitable world.

On campus, in the community, across the country, and abroad our students participate in internships, research, and service learning. Many take classes in foreign destinations. That life-changing exploration is an integral part of a liberal arts education. In an upcoming edition of Keene State Today, our alumni magazine, a series of stories illustrate how Keene State College alumni, students, and faculty are engaged in making a difference in our complex world, even as global conflicts large and small roil, human rights challenges persist, and political differences flare.

These stories, outcomes, and futures-in-the-making are a wonderful source of pride and hope.

Professional commitments out West and in Washington DC recently allowed me to engage with other leaders and policymakers, join our federal delegation and their staff on issues critical to New Hampshire, and serve on an American Association of Colleges and Universities panel on inclusivity in polarized environments. Listening and dialogue led me to realize that our community is not alone in struggling to find ways to reckon with division, anxieties, and fears — locally and globally, political or otherwise.

As president of Keene State College, my efforts continue to strike a delicate balance: protecting personal safety and free speech; ensuring access to educational opportunities; respecting academic freedoms and institutional values; fostering community trust; and embracing complexity.

Exposure to different views is one of the great yields of a college experience. Exposure does not extend to behavior that deepens differences, or worse, incites harm to individuals or groups. I will work with neighbors, municipalities, and civic leaders to support open and respectful participation and expression. Always.

In these unique and sometimes-trying times – especially in the days ahead – I ask that we keep ourselves open to the best our political process can offer. Engage and participate in the process but do so respectfully and in a spirit of comity that defines our unique communities and serves the greater good.