Campus Reform: Gustavus Adolphus College

The Diversity Center at Gustavus Adolphus College became a "Conservative Safe Space" in May of 2010 when the director made the decision to place a sticker on the door of the office. 

Junior student Phil Cleary, who pushed for the addition said, "I think this is a sign that we believe diversity is not just measured by the way people look, but also the way that they think.   It is great that we are open to consciously seeking out ways to incorporate more of the student body into the activities of the D-Center."

The inspiration for the idea came from students who were at the college previously.  In a binder of materials leftover in the College Republicans office from before he was a student, he learned  two students filed a formal document of grievances and objectives with the school in 2006.  "The stories of hostility, discrimination, vandalism towards students who had a similarly situated worldview as my own rang true." 

So students decided to do something:  Of the document's nine goals, one of them that remained incomplete was "The creation of a conservative safe zone."

The document said safe zone project was justified on the premises that while most "students have a place where they can feel free to share their opinions and struggles, feel safe, and feel respected; conservative students do not." 

Upon request, the Clare Boothe Luce Policy institute sent stickers to the students.  Then the students invited the center to display one on the door to signify its support for the free and open exchange of ideas in all areas of campus life.

Conservative students should now feel more welcome to participate in functions sponsored by the diversity center because the sticker is a valuable sign and gesture that the Office is not necessarily hostile to a particular point of view, but rather that it values intellectual diversity as a component of its understanding of diversity.