I was able to spend a lot of time with Dr. Jones while she was here. She is a person of deep faith, passionate about social justice, and genuinely compassionate about those who suffer from systemic injustice. I know a significant number of students disagreed with some of what she said and some were even offended. But I think the facts that she had never been to Wisconsin, has spent her entire professional career in New Haven and NYC, and clearly spoke more from her passion and experience than her manuscript created a gap between what she was saying and what they were hearing. Without these barriers the core message she was trying to communicate would have resonated with most of our students even if not the specific solutions she proposed. She would not have announced this publicly but while waiting in the airport to fly here she learned of the death of someone in her family whom she was very close to but she chose to honor her commitment to us. This speaks loudly to her integrity and passion to serve others. At times during her presentation it was obvious that she was distracted and I can certainly understand that. I’m glad students have responded to her presentation with such energy. Healthy debate is the result of solid, critical thinking and I commend our students for that.

Rob Sizemore

Lakeland College Chaplain