By Margaret L. Hazlett || Dean of the College
To the Editor:
Regarding the March 29 op-ed in The College Reporter on third-party security, it was very disappointing to review the referenced company’s website and see a number of postings that were inflammatory and disrespectful to groups of people based on their gender identity, religion, and ethnicity. Based on that information, which the College learned late on Wednesday, I made the judgment that the company was not an appropriate vendor for College events.
My reasoning for this decision is that the College takes seriously our commitment to work with business partners who espouse values of openness, inclusivity, and tolerance. Frankly, the company’s Facebook site conveyed messages inconsistent with our values.
Looking forward, the College is committed to working with student organizations to assure that social events are carried out in a way that are healthy, safe, and fun. All across the country, fraternities and sororities are moving to a model of having third-party security as a way of ensuring the safest possible environment when students are socializing. While it is, admittedly, not easy to balance the many considerations involved with ensuring safety at student parties, including the challenge of finding third-party companies who provide this service, it’s important that we work together, and I and my colleagues are committed to that effort.
We will be organizing a meeting next week with students to identify next steps in working on this issue and look forward to hearing your ideas.
Sincerely,
Margaret L. Hazlett, Dean of the College