Administrators felt they had the University’s best interests in mind when they chose not to appoint Steven Salaita to a tenured faculty spot in the American Indian studies program.

The comments that Salaita made on Twitter regarding the conflict in Gaza were inappropriate and offensive, thus the University was consistent with its statutes in deciding not to hire Salaita. The statutes express that faculty have the same freedom as citizens, but only to a certain extent, which we think is contradictory.

Chancellor Wise and the board cannot say the decision still supports the ideas behind open discussion and the ability to express one’s own perspectives when decisions concerning Salaita’s employment were made behind closed doors.

In a mass email sent out to University students and faculty on Friday, Chancellor Wise wrote that “a pre-eminent university must always be a home for difficult discussions” and the University holds many diverse opinions where “debate makes us stronger.” While these are admirable guidelines to uphold amongst University students and affiliates, it contradicts the actions that were made to terminate Salaita’s appointment as a professor for expressing an opinion.

In a follow-up to Chancellor Wise’s message, the board acknowledged the words used by Salaita were contributing to “disrespectful and demeaning speech,” and it was essentially the words he used that contributed to the rescinded offer by the University.

Not only were Salaita’s viewpoints silenced, but a group of students who took their protest of Salaita’s firing directly to the August 22nd Board of Trustees executive committee meeting were not allowed to voice their opinion as the meeting went into a closed session. Board members later exited this meeting through a private exit instead of the hallway where the students remained. We think it is important to consider the outcry and response to Salaita’s position termination by students and University affiliates, as well as other concerned citizens and professionals across the country.

These responses by others uphold Chancellor Wise’s emphasis on the importance of debate, discussion and differing viewpoints, and therefore these voices should be heard and considered in a situation with this much backlash. The Board of Trustees’ lack of willingness to listen to the concerns of the University community did not back up a core mission of encouraging different perspectives.

To reiterate, we understand the basis of the decision made by the University. We take Chancellor Wise and the Board’s words into consideration as they highlight the importance of welcoming discussion, new perspectives and creating a comfortable environment for all, but we do not believe the statutes or their actions reflect all of these missions.