A graduate of Wesleyan sent word that his alma mater now has a “Campus Climate Log” to chronicle “hate incidents and acts of intolerance” and help move “the entire campus towards a hate-free learning environment.” The project, wrapped in conventional diversity rhetoric, is overseen by the Dean of Diversity and Student Engagement as well as the Vice President for Diversity and Strategic Partnerships. The Log can be accessed on on-campus computers, including public ones, but it not available elsewhere. The reports range from the obviously hateful (“kill fags and Jews” scrawled on a bathroom wall) to the banal (suggestive comments from a passing car) and a postmodern graffiti by a student uncomfortable with the belief that a man is a man and a woman is a woman (“f—gender binaries”). To their credit, the Log committeepersons wonder about the point of major publicity for minor stupidities (“Would it cause more incidents by demonstrating how a single act received so much attention?”) Judging by the scarcity of complaints, either students don’t care much or the campus is already pretty much hate-free: the log for this school year shows only seven reports from last fall, and one since January 1.
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