I believe the college is the responsible party for not setting appropriate boundaries. Smith is a powerful institution. Students, parents, staff and faculty all depend upon the college administration to be ethically grounded, fair and transparent in its actions. Smith failed to take this responsibility seriously, which resulted in what one can only call an abuse of power. One outcome is loss of trust among staff. Another is teaching students (by example) that it’s okay to engage in this kind of behavior so long as it is justified by vague, ill-defined, pseudo-moralistic ends. Smith talks about “restorative justice.” I suggest an apology to the employees hurt by the administration’s response to the July 31, 2018 Facebook post, and to all other employees hurt in the rippling wake of this behavior. An op-ed in the New York Times would be a good start.

It appears that from Smith’s standpoint, the student’s “lived experience” is paramount; that alleged “lived experience” is to be coddled, protected and indeed validated at all costs, even when it’s at odds with the facts. Ms. Shaw’s “lived experience” (e.g. being humiliated in front of her co-workers during “struggle sessions”) is dismissed. And the cafeteria and janitorial staff are apparently not worthy of having “lived experiences;” they are beneath any place on the victimhood pyramid. It’s just very twisted.

The last posters email visible in the form!!! I saw McMaureen’s (… @att.net)