A Note From Our President: Nicolet College Believes in the Worth and Dignity of the Individual

Friends,

Among our Nicolet College Values statements, this one is first:

We believe in the worth and dignity of the individual, and we therefore commit to treating each person with kindness and respect.

But how can we honor this commitment if we silently watch from the sidelines as hundreds of thousands of Americans cry for recognition of their worth and dignity? In my view, we can’t. This is an excruciatingly difficult time for our country. The gut-wrenching killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and so many others like them must stop. No one in this country deserves to be targeted for persecution or subjected to mindless violence based on the color of their skin, the spelling of their name, the deity they worship, whom they choose to love, or the zip code of their residence.

As we express heart-felt sorrow and share our most sincere words of support for those who are so deeply hurting, we know in our hearts that we must do more. We have a moral and ethical responsibility, as human beings and as educators, to fight prejudice and racism, to condemn hate and division, and to reject the false and hurtful stereotypes that cause people of color to fear for their children’s safety every day. It’s time to step away from the sidelines and stand with those who will help build bridges to a future in which the worth and dignity of every individual is recognized, and all are treated with kindness and respect.

In this time of tension and torment, as we struggle to find the way forward, I am reminded of Barbara Jordan, a true humanitarian, a gifted orator, and the first black woman elected to the US Congress from Texas. In 1976, she said “… the great danger America faces is that we will cease to be one nation and become instead a collection of interest groups: city against suburb, region against region, individual against individual. Each seeking to satisfy private wants.” All these years later, this is precisely the road on which we find ourselves, and it doesn’t lead to a good place. It’s past time to stop and change direction.

We have before us a steep hill to climb. The work will be hard, but the goal, again in the words of Representative Jordan, is not so difficult to understand: "What the people want is very simple - they want an America as good as its promise." Though our corner of the world can sometimes seem far from Minneapolis, Los Angeles or DC, I believe that we too want an America as good as its promise. An America where all people are treated with kindness and respect. An America where education and economic opportunity align to reverse the growing chasm between the most and the least privileged. An America with liberty and justice for all.

Richard
Nicolet College President