Civility efforts strive to unite campus
Lauren Robinson-Brown
Princeton NJ -- There are issues on campus, and in life, that are just plain hard to talk about. Sensitivity, respect, diversity and relationship building are among them.
Ombuds Officer Anu Rao greets
"unsung heroes" Josue Lajeunesse (left) and
Vittorio Battaglia, both members of the building
services staff, at the April 4 awards
luncheon.
As part of a major effort to create an evolved sense
of civility at Princeton, the University Ombuds Office this
academic year launched a series of events to get people to
open up, talk, connect and, perhaps, move beyond what too
often alienates.
"The mark of a good community is seen in the deep regard of the members for one another, in the holding of a shared set of values, in the ability of community members to stand together in times, good and bad, and in their ability to share concerns and to solve problems by joining together," University Ombuds Officer Anu Rao said. The civility effort's focus, according to Rao, has been to raise awareness about existing programs and create new ones where gaps exist.
Luncheon celebration
An April 4 event marked one of the more joyful means of uniting the campus community. The Ombuds Office co-sponsored the program with undergraduate and graduate student leaders, the Third World Center and the Frist Campus Center. Warm feelings and gratitude abounded as 45 University employees were honored during the "Unsung Heroes and Heroines Awards Luncheon" in the Frist Campus Center.
Marilyn Yates, who has assisted graduate students in the English department for 34 years, called the honor "a wonderful surprise." A surprise, in part, because many of the honorees did not know who nominated them until that afternoon. Students and staff members alike said more such events are needed to show appreciation for those who contribute to making Princeton "the very best."
In February, undergraduates, grad-uate students and student groups were asked to nominate full-time employees in support and service positions who have gone above the call of duty and made a difference in students' lives. A committee of students and staff set the criteria and selected the honorees.
Princeton has tremendous assets but "we can't take advantage of any of those things without a different kind of resource -- human capital," Joe Kochan, a junior who is the president of the Undergraduate Student Government, said as he thanked the honorees.
Luncheon speaker Janet Smith Dickerson, vice president for campus life, called for the creation of "a community of the heart, a community that makes every effort to be beloved but relies on the contributions of individuals." She told the honorees that they have been "the caretakers of young people who will make a difference in a world beyond this one.
"You made them know that they were here for a purpose," Dickerson said. "You are colleagues of ours who human-ize an environment that sometimes can be so academic, so intellectual, so profoundthat people might forget to walk past you and say 'good morning.'"
Barbara Myers, graduate administrator for mechanical and aerospace engineering, was nearly in tears after reading some of the dozen or so nom-inations she received for the award. "I feel privileged to know these people," she said. But her students said Myers has made all of the difference.
"She is the life and soul of the graduate community," said Beverly McKeon, a fourth-year mechanical and aerospace engineering student.
The awards luncheon, which originated in the Third World Center eight years ago, was a sharp contrast to the luncheon held in the same room in the fall when this year's civility efforts were launched. That day, tears were shed also, but by people who felt they were too often unappreciated and disrespected on campus. Many that day said they felt "invisible."
"There's a polite timidity. We really don't address issues that confront and divide us. We keep hearing the stories. When are we going to make change? Are we going to be agents of change?" Heddye Ducree, Third World Center director, asked other forum participants back on Oct. 17. Since then, she and many others have been instrumental in helping the Ombuds Office heighten the civility emphasis.
In addition to the Ombuds Office, the Third World Center and the Frist Campus Center, the awards luncheon was co-sponsored by the offices of the president, provost, vice president for campus life, dean of undergraduate students, Graduate Student Government and Undergraduate Student Government.
Other initiatives
Other joint initiatives have included: workshops; special training sessions; the creation of a poster that helps enhance understanding about the human "behavioral spectrum;" a screening of the film "Color of Fear" followed by a discussion of racial issues; the compilation of a bibliography with related books available in Firestone Library and the creation of a civility Web site at www.princeton.edu/ombuds/civility2000.html
Civility events also took place in the fall of 1998 and 1999 but, this year, participants decided that the effort required more attention and needed to be year-round. Rao said she hopes to build upon the success of this year's pace.
"We are members of the Princeton community, and we share
a common culture," Rao said. "Culture is recreated every day
at Princeton in the sharing of our thoughts and experiences
with one another. Culture is recreated in the hundreds of
small things people do and say, in the meetings people
attend, in classrooms and in the workplace. We want to
create another venue for the joining of individuals from
different pathways."
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