Like it or not, Dr. Melissa Click’s here to stay at Gonzaga

Gonzaga Bulletin ^ | 9/14/2016 | Jared Brown

[simpson96]

As a Gonzaga student and a journalist, I am very confused about the hiring of Dr. Melissa Click to work in the communication studies department. Our mission statement says we are devoted to social justice and encouraging ethical discernment, reflective thought and leadership. So I am wondering how this decision keeps with our Catholic, Jesuit and humanistic heritage.

Click is someone who attempted to stifle the coverage of protests regarding racial inequality by trying to stop professional and student journalists from spreading the news of what was happening at the University of Missouri. I question her motives and ethical discernment in becoming physical with those at the scene, asking for “more muscle” and using her race and gender as an excuse for her firing.

Although she did apologize to those involved, refusing to be more transparent with the media and students at her new school shows a lack of reflection on her part. And someone with such a questionable past should not be asked to be a leader in the classroom, regardless of her qualifications.

Good professors are the foundation of a college education and what make a university great. Students spend several hours each day in class with professors learning what the teacher believes is important. My history professor mentioned how each instructor focuses on different aspects of history in their lectures that were molded by their opinions, experiences and beliefs.

Any other subject is the same way — with Click’s experiences going viral, what she highlights as important in her classes should also be questioned.

[Night Hides Not]

Thanks Gil4.

Zagland has been in decline since the departure of its previous President, Fr. Bob Spitzer. He graduated two years ahead of me, and provided dynamic leadership for a decade.

I will always have fond memories of my four years there, Gonzaga's a special place to those of us who are alumni.

The new president has enabled a tone that is much farther left. Fr. Spitzer was unafraid to bring in controversial speakers, such as Jesse Peterson. He forbid the presentation of The Vagina Monologues on campus, saying it violated Catholic doctrine.

I'll close with this: the hiring of Professor Click is opposed by large numbers of alumni.

[Night Hides Not]

That is seriously the name of the school?

LOL, nobody I knew in Texas heard of the school until about 15 years ago, when the basketball team became a fixture in the NCAA Tournament.

It's an excellent university, and going to school there was one of the best experiences of my life. Forty years after graduation, I routinely stay in contact with classmates, whether they be accounting grads or ROTC cadets. Our success in basketball has created numerous opportunities to reconnect in a festive atmosphere.

The campus is located in Spokane, Washington, a beautiful area of the country.