A Message from the President

Response to Student Movement opinion piece

by Niels-Erik Andreasen, president 

You’ve perhaps read, or heard about, an opinion piece about Black History Month celebrations that was printed in last week’s issue of our student newspaper, The Student Movement.

It has led to significant discussion on our campus and in social media, a discussion that has reflected dismay and, at times, outrage, about the views expressed by the student in the article. In turn, these discussions have raised questions about whether the views expressed in that opinion piece reflected a larger attitude about race and diversity on the part of the University and its administration.

The student newspaper is and should be a place where honest conversation about ideas can take place—including differing opinions about subjects that matter to us. However, some of the conclusions reached in this opinion piece were clearly at odds with the values of our University community on this subject. Our Student Movement editor has recognized this and has published an apology in the March 4th edition of the student newspaper.

Once again, while this opinion piece may reflect the attitudes of some on this campus and in our country, in the end it ultimately does not reflect the values and attitudes of our entire campus, nor does it ultimately represent the ideals we seek to achieve as a diverse community.

In turn, the fact that Andrews University is still seeking to achieve these ideals, and that some may question our commitment to do so, is a reminder that discussions about race and equality are not fully resolved in our country and, in turn, are not fully resolved on our campus.

At Andrews University, this yet to be fulfilled ideal of true cultural and racial understanding is a specific and assigned task for our Diversity Council, who must study, struggle with and help our University community define a path that helps us move forward. We as individuals, and as a community, still have significant goals to achieve and an important road to travel in this regard.

As we continue on this journey, I want to let you know that we remain fully committed to understanding and best fulfilling God’s plans and purposes to serve as a globally and culturally diverse university community that’s dedicated to changing the world for Him—and to seek to first fulfill that task on our very own campus.