Thoughts on the Anti-Discrimination Ordinance

The following is the full text of a letter from Interim President Neil Weissman to the Committee Members of the Carlisle Borough on the subject of the anti-discrimination ordinance.

Dear Committee Members,

I wish I could be here in person to offer my reflections on an issue as important as the anti-discrimination ordinance, but I have travel commitments that could not be changed.  On behalf of Dickinson College, I write to applaud the Employee Relations and Citizen Participation Committee for its work to secure the rights and protections of our diverse community members through the anti-discrimination ordinance and creation of a local Human Relations Commission.  Dickinson College believes that the diversity of its community is one of our greatest strengths and contributes to the vibrancy of Carlisle.  That diversity must be celebrated and protected.

Dickinson is one of the largest employers in Carlisle and Cumberland Country.  Our ability to recruit and retain the highest quality faculty and staff depends upon the values and inclusivity of the local community.  The college is proud of its prominence in the national higher education landscape – as a result, we frequently hire from across the United States, as well as internationally.  As a business and employer, we are less attractive than other colleges and universities in progressive municipalities that offer the kinds of protections enumerated in the ordinance.  This also rings true when we consider the college’s primary revenue stream – students.  Practically speaking, in today’s competitive postsecondary environment, families emphasize location in the college selection process.  The best students look for colleges that are diverse.  The possibility that a student may experience discriminatory treatment in his or her housing, local employment or other activities is simply unacceptable to our students, their families and to us.  Ensuring the protection of the diversity of our entire community ranks among our highest concerns in its effect on the faculty, staff and students we work hard to recruit and retain, as well as the excellence of our overall academic program and even our national rankings.

Furthermore, the anti-discrimination ordinance and creation of a Human Relations Commission is consistent with Dickinson College’s own values and practices.  It is a fundamental policy of the college to respect pluralism and to promote tolerance, civility and mutual understanding within our community.  For many years, Dickinson has already pledged to members of its community not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, age, veteran status, gender identity or expression, or sexual orientation.  The expansion of these commitments by the Borough of Carlisle is a welcome alignment of interests. The proposed ordinance takes a principled position to protect the human dignity of all of Carlisle’s residents, workers and visitors.

Dickinson College strongly supports the adoption of the ordinance.  Doing so sends a strong and clear message that the community will not stand for intolerance in any of its myriad forms.  It formally demonstrates that Carlisle is the welcoming and inclusive community we all know and expect it to be.