COPING WITH CONTROVERSY
What is Coping with Controversy?
Coping with controversy is a topic that focuses on helping student
leaders confront and deal with controversial or tense issues on
campus. It should be noted that this section is clearly not an
exhaustive resource so it is recommended to research and use
additional resources.
- Examples of controversial campus issues:
* Palestinian Solidarity Conference
* Luol Deng editorial
* Theme parties
Why is Coping with Controversy Important?
Coping with controversy is important because it gives student
leaders a starting point to help them address tensions and
potential harm, ensure safety and comfort, and create constructive
dialogue. Without such a starting point, unchecked controversy has
the ability to cause student unrest as well as irrepairable damage
to the campus community.
resources for coping with controversy: coping
strategies || coping resources
Coping Strategies
Work with Administration
Various members of the administration are in the appropriate
position to assist students who are dealing with controversy.
Administration not only has experience with such issues but has
resources and authorities that students don't have to appropriately
address the controversy as well. Since administration and students
usually strive toward the same goals during a controversy,
administration can help students develop a plan of action (see
below).
Build Coalitions
A single student group who feels threatened by a controversial
issue should not confront it alone. Reliance on an existing
coalition or development of a new coalition is recommended to
capitalize on the power of numbers.
- Other schools:
Coalitions can also be developed with student leaders and groups on other campuses that have dealt with or are currently dealing with the same controversy.
Develop Plans of Action
Once you know who you can count on to help you deal with the
controversy, the next step is to develop a plan of action that will
outline how the issue is going to be handled. Such a plan should
include a set of goals, related demands or requests, and
timelines.
- Contingency plans:
Every good plan also has a contingency plan if the original plan will not be able to be realized due to changing circumstances or new events. Great plans have contingency plans for the contingency plans.
Engage in Dialogue
A common goal in plans of action that address controversy is
the engagement of dialogue that the entire campus community is
invited to participate in. Dialogues can vary in format from
town-hall meetings to small-group discussions to written editorials
pieces. Regardless of the form it takes, a dialogue should focus on
learning the feelings and opinions that everyone has. All feelings
and opinions are welcome. Those that are unpopular shouldn't be
silenced because they are important in developing a solution. All
dialogues should have a trained facilitator.
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Coping Resources
Administration
As stated in the "Coping Strategies" section, administration
not only has experience with controversial issues but has resources
and authorities that students don't have to appropriately address
the controversy as well. Since administration and students will
usually strive toward the same goals during a controversy,
administration can help students develop a plan of action.
Faculty
Similar to administration, the faculty possesses experience
with controversial issues and has access to certain resources and
authorities that students don't have that may prove useful in
dealing with controversy. Thus, faculty should be approached in the
same manner that administration would be approached.
Organizations & Associations
Professional organizations and associations outside of the
university that handle controversial issues are highly useful
because they often have established protocol and plans of action
that they can recommend to student leaders. Examples of such
entities include the National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People (NAACP) and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination
Committee.
Police
If safety is a concern, then university and city police should
be involved for obvious reasons. When working with police,
administration should also be included in conversations since
administration has more experience with working with police.
Legal Counsel
Legal counsel should be considered as a last resort only after
careful consideration and consultation from others who have
experience using legal counsel. Legal counsel can be cumbersome as
well as expensive.
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