Respect: Demanded or encouraged?

The board adopted a new civility statement on Oct. 8. The civility statement is expected to be a working document that will be useful to the District over time.

Chancellor Rita Cepeda said that this civility statement will act as guidelines of behavior for everybody to follow.

Sam Ho, director of employment services and diversity, is concerned how incivility affects the district.

“A breakdown in civility affects how we treat one another,” Ho said. “This breakdown prevents us from bringing forth our resources in a trustworthy manner and in a respectful environment.”

Cepeda said that this was a concern for the board of trustees when she was hired in 2010 and that it is a requirement for accreditation.

The College Planning Council did not endorse this statement because a majority opposed it.

As one of the members of the CPC, instructor Padma Manian was one of the members who voted against this policy.

I think the civility statement is unnecessary and possibly detrimental to free speech,” Manian wrote in an email. “Especially in an educational institution we should be able to have a free exchange of ideas even if some of the ideas are uncomfortable and upsetting to some.”

She said she believes that the school does not need authorities to tell them how to be civil.

“Too much concern about not appearing to be uncivil and thus drawing the ire of the ‘civility police’ could inhibit the expression of controversial ideas,” Manian said.

Cepeda said this statement is not about forcing anybody to be civil; it is about encouraging everybody to treat each other respectfully.

“The hope is that we will create an atmosphere of respect for one another,” Cepeda said,”regardless of your position.”