YOUR TURN: Universities are not daycares
Is anything more discouraging than the scarcity of effective leaders in America today? The chaos on elite college campuses is an object lesson in ineffective and weak leadership. Contrast the actions and words of officials at Ivey League universities with the words of Steve Orlando, spokesman for the University of Florida: “This is not complicated. The University of Florida is not a daycare, and we do not treat protesters like children — they knew the rules, they broke the rules, and they will face consequences.” This is leadership.
Students who break the rules should be expelled, not counseled, or suspended. They should be expelled. Non-students protesting on college campuses should be arrested for trespassing and receive serious consequences for violent behavior or the destruction of property as the Jan. 6 rioters appropriately received. If these students were predominantly white kids protesting in support of white supremacy, there is no doubt they would be expelled or worse as they should.
Foreign students should be expelled, their visas suspended, and they should be deported immediately. This is simple. Leaders do not need committees or councils to evolve and evaluate decisions. They take proper actions promptly in the normal course of their work.
Suggesting these students and others are simply expressing their right to free speech is not leadership. Free speech is civil discourse in available and approved venues. It is not the illegal confiscation of public spaces and destruction of public property.
What are the attributes of good or even great leaders. Here is my list:
Courage. Effective leaders are courageous. They are willing to take chances. Doing and saying what is expected is not leadership. It is bureaucratic appeasement.
Collaboration. Good leaders seek and consider the advice of others, especially those experienced in the matters under consideration.
Confidence. To be effective, leaders must act decisively. Confidence encourages consensus.
Compassion. Leaders show compassion for those impacted by their decisions and actions knowing what they do or fail to do impacts the lives of others in differing ways.
Communication. Leaders say what they mean and mean what they say. They are concise and clear. They use words that convey understandable messages, and they follow through on their communications.
Are leaders at elite universities acting courageously? Do they quickly collaborate with law enforcement officials as radicals take over their campuses? Are they confident in their actions? Do they show compassion for students who have been attacked by campus thugs in hateful words and violent actions? Have they been considerate to the interests of the majority of the students on their campuses? Do they speak clearly and confidently on behalf of civility and order?
The answer to all these questions is no. This is simple. These universities should fire these ineffective leaders immediately and put people in charge who understand that universities are not daycares.
Michael K. McMahan is a resident of Gaston County.
This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: YOUR TURN: Universities are not daycares
