Ultimately, though, Summers must do more than talk and listen; he must act. Dialogue itself is a worthwhile exercise, but it succeeds in fostering a community of peace, free interchange and mutual respect only insofar as it proves effective as a means initiating tangible change. This is not to suggest that the new administration must acquiesce to every student demand and recommended reform brought to the table, but it is to suggest that the administration must treat every student demand and recommended reform with seriousness and actually take steps to act on those issues where student and administrative interests are able to converge.
Summers, to date, has put his best foot forward, but healing a fractured University and reestablishing an environment of trust is going to take more than a few carefully planned dinners, a firm handshake, and a toothy grin. Moving to a community of dialogue requires abandoning rhetoric for respect and administrative apathy for action. Summers can change the ethos of this community, but to do so he must exert more effort than he currently is expending.
Lauren E. Baer ’02 is a social studies concentrator in Dusnter House. Her column appears on alternate Wednesdays.