Letters to the Editor: Summer 2022
Thought-Provoking
Professors Amna Khalid and Jeff Snyder advocate polite and reasoned discourse between a variety of viewpoints on controversial subjects [“The Provocateurs,” winter]. That they are viewed as provocateurs begs the question: “What the hell is wrong with higher education?” The whole point of a liberal arts education is that one is exposed to a variety of competing arguments and, in synthesizing one’s point of view, one learns how to think. Interestingly, colleges these days seem to focus on less important (but not unimportant) and more superficial measures of diversity such as skin color, sexual orientation, and wealth in their admissions decisions. In spite of this, colleges are becoming more and more ideologically monolithic. Students whose ideologies do not conform to the standard are more likely to choose more vocational academic venues than the traditional liberal arts. This ghettoization of ideological conformists to the liberal arts will diminish the broad perspective gained through a liberal arts education. Those students who pursue a more vocational education will similarly lose this breadth of thought outside their chosen specialty.
—Mark Williams ’84
Professors Khalid and Snyder are quintessential Carleton—the world cannot be explained with simple sound bites and either/or dichotomies. The complexities of racial history are not compatible with the simplistic view of the past through the lens of the present, and these professors clearly are imparting critical analytical skills to this generation of Carleton students. Oh, to be able to take a class from them now!
—Dennis Gastineau ’74
No Time to Waste
As a climate scientist, I have a keen interest in following what actions institutions like Carleton are taking to reduce carbon emissions. Carbon emissions from the burning of fossil fuels are by far the largest cause of human-driven climate change, driving upward trends in temperatures, extreme precipitation and drought, sea level and wildfires, to name but a few.
The winter Voice appropriately celebrates Carleton’s new geothermal energy system, which will help make a significant reduction in the campus’s carbon emissions [“Steam Heat”]. However, it appears that Carleton’s climate commitment is half-hearted. In the same issue, an article about campus security mentions that the team purchased two new gas-guzzling SUVs [“To Protect and Serve”]. Why? To meaningfully fight climate change, Carleton needs a comprehensive all-campus approach to phasing out fossil fuels and fossil fuel investments. Carleton’s campus would be the perfect environment for electric security vehicles. At the same time, the Voice could take the opportunity to educate Carls on how they could reduce their individual dependence on fossil fuels. To Carleton officials and anyone else reading this: Please get real on climate. We don’t have time to waste.
—David Schneider ’99
Martha Larson, formerly Carleton’s manager of campus energy and sustainability, replies: “2021 marked an important milestone in Carleton’s carbon reduction efforts as we transitioned off steam and saw a 69 percent reduction in our carbon footprint since 2008. But there is more work ahead, and we must act quickly. With that in mind, the facilities department is evaluating ways to further decarbonize our energy sources. In 2021 Carleton’s Environmental Advisory Committee published a detailed review of our 2011 Climate Action Plan (CAP), including key recommendations for CAP 2.0. One is to engage a more holistic approach that applies a sustainability lens to all campus divisions, departments, and decision-making. The upcoming strategic planning process will allow Carleton to reimagine how we integrate climate and sustainability into our institutional mission and daily activities.”