An issue has arisen regarding the personal writings of a teaching assistant in CU-Boulder聮s creative writing program. To date, we are unaware of any complaints or grievances leveled against this individual. Nor have we found evidence of any misconduct by him as a CU instructor or student, and no evidence that his personal views have affected his ability to perform his duties as an instructor.
As an institution of higher education, the University of Colorado at Boulder is committed to the values of academic inquiry, free exchange of ideas, and free speech. We also strongly uphold all of our regulations regarding discrimination and harassment in and out of the classroom.
If any of the Web-based writings attributed to this individual are accurate, it is important to note that they represent his personal views alone, and are not to be construed as representing the views of the collective faculty, staff, students or administrators at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Personally, I find objectionable 聳 and contrary to my own personal values 聳 views that victimize individuals, denigrate communities or exalt divisiveness over the values of democracy, pluralism and community. While I may disagree with such ideas, they are protected by the First Amendment, and the best response to them is, itself, rooted in the First Amendment. With this in mind, I would encourage our community to peacefully challenge ideas that offend and pursue debate in a spirit worthy of CU-Boulder聮s traditions.
In a positive sense, opportunities to engage vital issues rooted in ethnic, cultural and religious identity abound on campus, and can be found this week in the campus聮s observance of Black Awareness Month
and next week in the observance of Holocaust Awareness Week .
These and many other events and activities are worthy of our attention and participation. As these important interactions continue, I firmly believe that we should not allow any single individual or ideology to deflect us from our course, or cause us to compromise our commitment to free speech and free inquiry.