Larry Roper

Building Community

A Conversation on transforming our energies to create the world in which we want to live: I'm not completely certain what it means to sit on the horns of a dilemma, but I'm guessing it's a fairly painful experience. For this reason that phrase is an appropriate way of expressing how I have felt as I have observed and participated in recent campus and community conversations. The conversations took place as a result of observations by some that we have had an increase in incidents of hate on campus and in the city of Corvallis. In face-to-face conversations, letters to the editors of the Corvallis Gazette-Times and the Oregon State University Barometer and at community forums, significant attention has been given to how we can eliminate racism, sexism, homophobia and other forms of bigotry in Corvallis and at OSU. My dilemma rests with the fact that, like others, I would like to live in a world free of hatred, bigotry, and violence.

However, I have this nagging feeling that by focusing our energy on eliminating those negative elements we are setting our standards too low. While the thought of living in a world where we have eliminated intentional pain and suffering sounds like a noble aspiration, living in a world that is characterized by care, compassion and joy is even more compelling to me. So, bear with me as I ramble along to explain my dilemma and pose questions around which I would encourage us to have on-going conversations.

My dilemma rests with how to transform the energy that we periodically exert to discuss and act to eliminate negative social dynamics into sustained energy to create the world in which we want to live. More specifically, how do we change our focus from destroying the elements of our current interactions that dehumanize and degrade us to creating relationship networks that are life-giving, life-affirming and life-sustaining? How do we get onto the path to build a genuine sense of community at OSU?

We draw upon different energy sources when we are working to eliminate than when we are seeking to create. To eliminate we must in some way focus on destruction. In that mode we can utilize anger, frustration, rage and other emotions that allow for randomness in our actions. To create we must act with care. Creative people draw upon their passion, work toward a vision and act with thoughtfulness. We would act differently in our relationships if we were to be motivated by what we want to create, as opposed to what we want to eliminate. Eliminative organizations and creative organizations behave quite differently. Eliminative groups seem to find alignment with the warring ideals traditionally used by systems of control. We have seen these systems attempt to change society through waging a "War on Poverty," "War on Drugs," "War on Crime," etc. Somehow we have not seemed to catch the contradictions inherent in waging a war on hate. Creative communities set their aspirations at the level of what it wants for its members, as opposed to what it doesn't want.

As we think about and confront the most troubling aspects of our personal interactions, I would like to challenge us to think about how they might be addressed if we were to make our focus creating a positive sense of community. In my thinking community would be achieved through our shared commitment to take care of the social, emotional, psychological, intellectual, physical and spiritual condition of the space we share. As a community we would make it our responsibility to ensure that the humanity and dignity of each person is preserved and nurtured. We would acknowledge the struggles associated with being human and the limitations that each of us brings to our interactions. By being a genuine educational community we would come to know that problems will arise, but we would solve those problems with the idea of enhancing community as our goal — we would elevate every problem to the level of an educational problem.

Community means we will act with heart and courage. We will not be afraid to confront the difficult issues that present themselves. We will have the courage to name our problems, own our problems and take responsibility for solving our problems. We will have the heart to pursue care as a virtue and the energy to engage in caring as our most consistent activity. As a community we will not be ambivalent. We will have the ability to make clear judgments about whether behaviors that occur are congruent with our values or at odds with our expectations. However, as we make judgments about how to respond to incongruent behaviors we will use our ability to educate as the gauge by which we will measure the appropriate response. As an educational institution, teaching is the most powerful tool we have at our disposal. Though we can punish, I would hope that being punitive is not what we do best. When we feel we can not respond with an appropriate educational response, that ensures the safety of other community members, separation of the individual from the community is the most logical response. Courage and heart means acting with care, while also acting with commitment to our values. True communities commit to making hard choices.

When we are in community with each other we will acknowledge our interdependence and shared destiny. The quality of our lives at OSU and in Corvallis rests in each other's hands. In our relationships we can cause others to feel invisible, marginal, inaudible, nameless and faceless. Or we can create the context in which others will feel sustained, nourished, stimulated, engaged and appreciated. Interdependence means we will look for the value in what others bring, rather than dwelling on what they are lacking. We will look for strengths, rather than flaws. We will pull when needed and push when it is required, all with the goal of moving our community forward. We will rejoice in our journey and in those with whom we share the journey. Genuine communities take the life situations, aspirations, identities and needs of their members seriously and support them as they strive to achieve success. Interdependence means when one of us is diminished, we are collectively diminished.

In the abstract, building community usually sounds like a great idea, but our personal histories with violence and hatred makes it difficult to believe in such a concept. In my own journey to believe in the possibilities community offers I have had to abandon many previously held beliefs. Specifically, I had to challenge my beliefs about controlling human behavior. I have had to accept that there are certain behaviors that I can not stop, as much as I would like. However, I have discovered that I can work with others to construct environments in which life-affirming behaviors form the dominant culture. I have come to realize that any group of people with the desire to do so can construct a campus ethos where the moral force of their relationships creates an overwhelmingly caring environment where certain negative behaviors will not find the energy source needed to give them life. I also know that failure to intentionally construct a caring environment leaves a moral vacuum in which a range of random behaviors will occur.

Community demands forgiveness, the ability to recognize that each of us is a work in progress and that we make mistakes as we grow. We must not lose sight of the fact that most people aspire to lead positive lives, contribute to society, and genuinely connect their lives to others. At the same time, there are many in our society who are isolated and disconnected from positive social institutions. Such isolation allows for personally and socially destructive behaviors. Some people learn hate, while others learn love. Our challenge when we are confronted with the behaviors of those who have learned hate is to determine do we further isolate or do we respond with the idea of bringing those individuals into community? Will we assume a "blame and isolate" mentality or will we choose the path of reconciliation? Clearly, we will have a range of responses — some of us will want to punish, some educate, while others will want to nurture, heal and reconcile. Whatever the response, our ability to move forward as a community when we have been damaged by hate will be anchored to our ability to draw upon our collective energy and stay true to our values.

We need community as a healing element. The environment we have allowed to develop has profoundly affected the lives of many in our community. Many have been the direct targets of racism, sexism, and other forms of violence. As a community we must possess the capacity to embrace and support those who have been hurt by those who are not in community with us. Our moral imperative is to consciously create a campus and community context in which members will feel physically, emotionally and psychologically safe. We must do the work necessary to transform our relationships. We must all work to create a genuine sense of community.

However, before we can pursue community we must answer some very important questions. Do we want to be a community? If so, how do we define community? What will acting like a community require from each of us? Do we have the capacity for hard work necessary to stay committed to the journey to community?

We are challenged to answer these and other questions because our decision to pursue community must be a conscious choice. It will not happen by accident. It can not happen by administrative or legal mandate. It will not happen by random occurrence or fate. It can only happen if we possess the vision and the will to make it be.

It is clear to me, as I have participated in our campus and community discourse that we are searching for answers. However, it strikes me that we don't realize that we possess the answers to our most troubling concerns. The answers rest in our ability to trust our creative potential, draw upon the strength of our character, and engage the power of our shared spirit. The answers lie in our willingness to commit to community as our destination.

I ask that we join together and focus our energy on what we can do to create for ourselves and for those who will come after us a genuine sense of community. These may be the most important conversations we will ever have. Can we do this?

Larry D. Roper
Vice Provost for Student Affairs
Oregon State University
632 Kerr Administration
Corvallis, OR 97331
(541)737-2759