Marietta College’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week

This week, Marietta College stepped into all sorts of trouble. First, the college sponsored a diversity Christmas tree that sought to open a dialogue about inclusion. The tree had ornaments proclaiming that various lives matter — Black, White, Native American, straight, LGBQT, old, young, etc.

Each of these statements is, of course, true. But only one is “allowed” these days. A small but loud group seem to think that even the suggestion that any other kind of life matters is an insult. Such silliness. Silliness in the extreme when you consider that black lives matter, the true and reasonable statement, has been usurped by Black Lives Matter, a militant organization whose extreme positions do no one seeking meaningful change any good.

In response, Marietta College leaders said that they simply meant to start a dialogue, but understand now that they chose the wrong venue. An intrepid investigator might have asked what venue would be correct to start such a dialogue.

Don’t ask the college administrators. Ask the people who were so wounded emotionally by a Christmas tree that they fired off angry emails and social media posts. They’re the ones who claim moral superiority over what discussion can take place, when, and under what circumstances.

The reality is that they don’t want a discussion. They have demands, and those demands aren’t negotiable. Police lives, even as over 250 have been killed this year, mustn’t be part of the conversation. At 6’8” I’d go for tall lives matter, but I don’t dare wade into that fight.

The mistake made by Marietta College administrators wasn’t putting diversity statements on Christmas tree ornaments. The mistake was thinking that there was room for discussion in the first place.

As Christmas-Tree-Gate was unfolding, the College emailed alumni to alert them of a year-long review into the political correctness of the Marietta College Pioneer mascot.

My fellow alumni who I spoke with had an almost unanimous response, “wait… why?”

The email kindly asked for my input as a Very Important Alumnus (a title I bestow upon myself). So here you go…

Stop it.

The Marietta College Pioneer is not offensive. That’s a fact. It’s not opinion. It shouldn’t take a committee and a year to figure it out. Facts have come under increasing fire lately, and this is yet another example of one under attack by the cancel culture crowd.

Of course, we live in a world where people have called for statues of Abraham Lincoln to be taken down, because he didn’t do enough to free the slaves. In the parlance of today’s college students, I ask, “wut?”

If that’s true, the entire chalkboard of history must be erased. Nothing is safe. Big, overstuffed, tricorn-hat-wearing Pioneer mascot or otherwise.

If only there were a proud liberal arts school willing to push back on that cancel culture and move forward against all odds with a real discussion. Such an institution’s leadership might allow for progress, even if that means parting as friends without consensus, the Long Blue Line moving forward united, at least, in exaltation of the free expression upon which our country was founded.

Make no mistake — the pioneers who settled Marietta were war heroes who fought for our freedom and liberty. That settlement was made under the first governing document in the history of the country to outlaw slavery. The pioneers fought for a state constitution confirming that ideal and setting the country on a collision course to answer for its constitutional short-comings. They opened the west to settlement. In doing so, they clashed with Native Americans. That’s something we should learn about, something that shouldn’t be ignored.

The irony is that Marietta College truly is uniquely situated to play a role here. After all, teaching is a better solution than cancelling. Giving context, rather than erasing history, is the path forward. The college has some of the finest historical resources of any college in the country. It could lead the way educating its students, the local community, and even the country at large about our history — both the glorious and the tragic moments. Start a committee to create that curriculum and have the Pioneer mascot teach the first class.

In the meantime, I’m hanging a “Pioneer Mascot Lives Matter” ornament on my Christmas tree.

###

Matt Dole is a national communications expert based in Columbus. He graduated with a history degree from Marietta College.