Until recently, I could proudly call myself an alumna of the University of Baltimore. A public school in the middle of historic Mt. Vernon in Baltimore, we boast a diverse student body in age and racial divide. We skew older than the average university, as we only recently started letting Freshman and Sophomores into the school. We don't even have dorms because we tend to be working adults who live in the area, though we now have market-priced apartments, which may be pricier than our neighbors at Johns Hopkins University and Maryland Institute College of Art.
So we are a school for working people - people trying to better themselves educationally to improve their lives and their family's lives. We are people who went to community college, and worked full time while attending classes. These things were not handed to us. So it is a HUGE slap in the face when our college President, former Mayor Kurt Schmoke, invited Betsy DeVos to speak at our school's fall commencement ceremony. The students scheduled protests immediately, demanding to have a voice in who represented them, and the President was quick to respond that no protest would change the speaker.
The president's response below:
*To The UB Community –
In the past few days I have received numerous emails, calls and letters regarding my invitation to U.S. Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos to be the keynote speaker at our Fall Commencement this December. Because I am unable to respond to each of the emails which I received, I am sending this message to address a few of the recurring issues that have been raised.
First, I extended the invitation to Secretary DeVos in January of this year, and she accepted shortly thereafter. In my letter of invitation I afforded her the opportunity to use the event to not only congratulate our graduates but to also present her views on higher education issues of her choice. Second, I anticipated the reaction both pro and con to my decision to invite her. It is the type of reaction that one would expect to have in a vibrant university community. Third, after reading about events at other universities where persons were denied the right to speak because some on campus opposed the views of the speaker, I became convinced that the University of Baltimore was the right institution to affirm the academy’s commitment to freedom of speech.
Thank you very much for considering these comments as discussion continues about our Fall Commencement speaker.
Sincerely,
Kurt L. Schmoke
President*
Is it any surprise he is unwilling to consider the student's voices as his own cousin is now part of the DeVos team?
It is surprising that the University was thoughtful enough to follow his email immediately with a message from the VP for Student Affairs:
*Students:
Following this morning’s message from the President, and as dialogue continues regarding the announced speaker for this fall’s Commencement, we want to remind you of the values that are shared within the UB community every day: Mutual respect, civility and self-awareness are essential to our success as a public institution. As the UB Creed states, “I will act with integrity and responsibility; seek to understand and respect the differences in others; pursue knowledge; and foster excellence for myself and my community.”
We encourage you to share your views, but be mindful of the importance of personal safety and peaceful conduct. Please remember to carry your university IDs as you go about your day.
Thank you.
Shelia Higgs Burkhalter
Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs*
To be fair, prior to Schmoke being President, my undergraduate commencement speaker was laughable. They brought in the Founder of GoDaddy - Bob Parsons - who proudly told us how he didn't finish matriculating at the University of Baltimore, but Look At Him Now!! After 7 years of part-time school and full-time work, it was a slap in the face to hear that, but not nearly as offensive as bringing in Ms. DeVos, a proponent of privatizing the school system, invested millions in lobbying for laws that drain resources from schools like the University of Baltimore, and most recently conflated civil rights with the criminal justice system, walking the Dept. of Ed away from addressing sexual assault on campus and providing rights to victims.
The students do not want their commencement tainted by the political ideology of a speaker who seeks to keep them bound in debt for the rest of their working lives. They do not want to have to skip out on this celebration of THEIR accomplishments due to this woman who, given the opportunity, would deny them access to the school from which they are graduating.
This is simply a terrible choice that should be walked back immediately by University of Baltimore's administration.
Photo of Betsy DeVos by Gage Skidmore