Rocks

Why is Pacific ashamed of political expression?

Across the United States, university campuses are grappling with the violence unfolding in Israel/Palestine. From Harvard to the University of the Pacific, students have struggled to find a way to express their feelings in the face of administrators who are terrified of offending donors and prospective students. Feeling powerless and unsupported by the institutions they belong to, many students have turned to the one location on campuses reserved and protected for free speech. 

So-called “Spirit Rocks” can be found somewhere on the grounds of almost every campus in the country. In times of limited controversy, these rocks are painted by student groups to announce events, support Greek life, or spread positive messages. However, in times of conflict, students often turn to these rocks to express their allegiance to one side or another of an important issue. At the University of the Pacific, our Spirit Rocks have been painted in the past to protest American interventions in the Middle East, express discontent with University Presidents, and rally against a particular governor's invitation to a graduation ceremony. 

In such times, comparing ourselves to events unfolding across the country is helpful. The University of Connecticut (UCONN) and the University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas) provide two diametrically opposed exemplars of administrative responses to the rally of rock paintings. In UCONN’s case, the rocks were kept as they were, and the university stood proudly behind the freedom of expression. UT Dallas took the opposite approach. After student groups spent turns painting and repainting the rocks in favor of Israel or Palestine for weeks on end, the University simply took the stones away and suspended the one school-sanctioned outlet of speech allotted to their student body. 

So that brings us back to the University of the Pacific. As many of you know, our spirit rocks were painted to support Palestine on October 20th, 2023.

One month later, as our student body returned from Thanksgiving break on November 11th, 2023 they found the same rocks painted supporting Israel. 

Those rocks were painted over the next day with the most corporate, clean, and unoffensive imagery possible. This author offers a cash reward to any student willing to come forward with proof that they painted these images unprompted by campus authorities. 

Setting aside the imagery of the rocks for a moment, there remains yet another issue at hand that may very well impact the very culture of our student body. The Pacifican has uncovered a curious coincidence. A week after the rocks were painted to support Palestine, the powers in charge of admissions decided to alter the tour route given to prospective students and parents, cutting the rocks from the route entirely. 

The official reason for this change was efficiency. This explanation, however, does not pass the sniff test. According to sources with intimate knowledge of the situation, the rocks have always been a highlight of the tour; many families and students have claimed that the rocks were, in fact, their favorite part of the experience because they exemplified the traditions of our campus and the connections that our student body had to them. 

Indeed, shortening the tour length makes little sense from an admissions perspective. If one attempts to recruit students, would you not want them to spend more time getting to know our beautiful campus rather than less? Of course, there is also the timing of the change, occurring so closely after the rocks were painted in support of Palestine. Even if the reason given was completely accurate, the optics of the change do not reflect well upon our administration's decision-making. 

Even sources close to the situation expressed the belief that the change was made due to the controversial content of the rocks rather than some nebulous efficiency objective. Other sources emphasized that the administration did not want the heartbreaking situation occurring in the Levant to bring negativity to the tour of our campus. 

That, of course, brings us to the crux of the issue. The University of the Pacific has long been bereft of an authentic political culture. While there are many possible explanations as to the cause of this phenomenon, one can not rule out deliberate attempts by the University to stamp out any movements before they can even get going. That starts with the type of students that this University attracts, and a not-insignificant part of that recruitment effort plays out during the tours given to possible future students and their families. The war for the culture of our student body may not be won during that tour, but the battle certainly begins. 

The truth is that expressed support for or against Palestine and Israel remains controversial. That support might have scared off families that would have otherwise enrolled their children here. The University goes out of its way to present itself as an apolitical and safe place for burgeoning minds, where parents can be sure their children will be safe from difficult discussions and ideas. One source expressed that admissions strives to ensure guests remain unstressed and comfortable on campus tours. And that is fine if that is indeed the goal. However, the question remains: is that all the oldest university in California should strive for? Important conversations are uncomfortable. They are stressful. They would not be important if they were not.