A few weeks ago, Chancellor Robert Jones was quickly criticized for taking responsibility for a student presentation that went bad.

What? When a program conducted by Students for Justice in Palestine went off the rails and deteriorated into little more than an anti-Semitic rant, Chancellor Jones simply pointed this out and mandated that “all housing staff and resident advisers will be required to undergo anti-Semitism training.”

Why criticize Jones? Would he receive the same blow-back if suggesting anti-racism training in the wake of a racially charged incident? Instead, would it not be better to praise Chancellor Jones for standing up against hatred on campus regardless of its origin?

I, for one, choose to champion those University administrators attempting to promote and lead students — and the community in general for that matter — toward dialog, discussion and discovery amidst a secure setting.

Isn’t that the core purpose of our University in the first place?

Ron is an alumnus of the class of 1972.

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