An Open Letter to the Trustees of Harvey Mudd Cellege
The following is the text of a letter I sent to the trustees of Harvey Mudd College:
Hello Jim,
My name is Travis Athougies and I am a Harvey Mudd College graduate from 2014, as is my wife. You may remember me as I was at several trustee meetings serving as both ASHMC treasurer in 2012-2013 and then president 2013-2014. I recently learned you are now the chair of the board of trustees. Congratulations and thanks for your service!
I am writing because I was recently informed by a fellow alum about the following incident:
Put simply, we are extremely disappointed but unfortunately not surprised.
Even more disappointed, but again, not surprised are we that the immediate steps of the presidents office were to provide support for the group of instigators rather than the actual victims here - the normal students trying to find career and internship opportunities.
From my view as a recent enough student and alumni, this is just the latest escalation in problems that have remained in place since my own time at Harvey Mudd. Of course, this incident resulted in flat out violence and assault (and hopefully criminal charges).
Contrary to how these instigators portray themselves, they are contributing to a toxic environment at the college that makes it an unsafe environment for many students who are cowed into silence.
If I’m honest with myself, my time at Harvey Mudd was littered with small threats against my basic safety for holding views in line with large parts of the American public. For example, I still recall several threats of violence against various public figures giving talks during my time at the 5Cs (including threats against students interested in attending), as well as student rhetoric threatening violence against those who held different viewpoints. Moreover, the tolerance for violence that Mudd generally held towards its students meant that intolerable behavior, like assault of police officers by underage drunken students or drug-induced nocturnal manic episodes or non consensual exposure to various tacitly dorm-approved sexual hazing rituals, were an unfortunately common occurrence.
During my college years as a young adult, the result was that Mudd essentially normalized the intolerable and made for a very unsafe environment on campus. To make matters worse, the administration, instead of making the environment safer for the majority of students, would choose, as it again did here, to provide endless support and sympathy for the very groups responsible for the threats. There is a solid culture of don’t ask, don’t tell at Harvey Mudd that would not be tolerated at other non-profits I have worked with. As the now father of three young children, looking back at my college years, I sometimes wonder – where were the adults? Frankly, with news like this coming out and given my own experience, one seriously considers sending their own children to their alma mater.
Mudd’s technical excellence is unquestioned, but all too often, professors themselves become the target of student rage. I know of at least one professor who has left because of the intolerant environment created by certain groups on campus.
So again, I ask… Where are the adults?
We cannot look at incidents like these and say they are isolated. They are not. The trustees need to step in and force real changes to make the environment at Harvey Mudd welcoming to students from all backgrounds. We cannot let the loudest voices in the room make all the decisions while their demands tacitly terrorize the rest of the school.
Again, we cannot look at these incidents and ignore them by citing academic free thought. Violence is not free speech. And moreover, a commitment to academia means creating an environment where students actually feel safe to think without threats of violence against them and staff.
If I recall from my various trustee meetings and interaction with members of the advancement office, Harvey Mudd had a problem with getting people to donate after they’ve left. My wife and I support various educational causes but have not donated to Mudd. My feeling after speaking with alumni and my recollection talking with the advancement staff at the time makes me realize that there’s a silent message that no one wants to say, but I’m just going to make it obvious:
The alumni who make the money are not coming from these groups that the President’s office is ‘supporting’. Mudd needs to make a choice to support the people it wants to eventually become individuals who support it. Alumni are embarrassed when their school becomes known for these incidents rather than what we all came there for: math, science, and education.
The Harvey Mudd mission mandates that its students understand the impact of their work on society. The students behind this incident barely comprehend the impact of their work on their peers. Are these the kinds of students we want? At some point, the admissions department needs to be held accountable for being ultimately responsible for creating this toxic environment. I would hope the trustees instigate an actual investigation into what qualities led to the radicalization of these students and institute policies that mean such radicals won’t again be allowed to terrorize students and staff.
Again, we cannot look at the school, pat ourselves on the back that these incidents happen elsewhere, and then move on. While true, there are echos of similar incidents throughout the country, I once again call to mind our mission statement, which is to create students capable of understanding their impact on the world. If Harvey Mudd wants to lead and not simply follow, then Harvey Mudd needs to take the reins here and show that there is a different way. By doing so, we will create a better environment for students, faculty, and staff.
Travis Athougies HM ’14