BY RANDY McNUTT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
OXFORD - This week's racial disturbances at Miami University caught President James Garland by surprise, he said Friday in a letter to the faculty, staff and 7,000 students living on campus.
"They came after a year of significant progress by our university, a year of soul-searching, of drawing together to protest hateful acts, of planning and stretching ourselves to build the accepting community to which we all aspire," he said.
Only a few weeks ago, he said, a distinguished faculty member said he sensed a lessening of anger and tension on campus.
"My optimistic sense of forward momentum has been instantly dissipated by the recent events," Mr. Garland wrote.
"Once again, this despicable crime provoked members of our community to rise in protest to express their frustration at a university that had not, they believed, lived up to its ideals. . . .
"To my sorrow, the gap which had painstakingly been narrowing over the past months suddenly widened again."
Mr. Garland, in his second year on the job, said the obvious lesson is that all is not well on the campus.
"But I believe there is another lesson to be learned from these events as well, and that is how extraordinarily fragile human societies can be," he said.
The president urged Miami's community to listen to those who are frustrated, angry and unhappy.
"Let us resolve to listen to their voices with open minds and hearts," he said. "Let us resolve to speak out once again against hate and intolerance. And let each of us resolve to contribute to the kind of discourse that furthers understanding."
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