Bring Our Best Selves

A guest post by former NASPA President Mike Segawa

I have a challenge for us: bring our best selves to the consolidation question. No matter what you believe about this issue or how passionately you believe it, be committed to the highest quality discourse as that will say more about us individually and collectively than any particular argument we bring to the debate. In my faith community, we say, “No matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here.” I hope our words and actions in this argument ultimately reflect this belief.

We are being watched. We are being watched by colleagues within our profession and by those outside of it. They are noticing how we treat each other. We are being judged how mature we are as professionals and as a profession by how we conduct a discourse on a topic of critical importance to our field. Will we see beyond whatever self-interests we all possess? Will we talk respectfully on matters that we may disagree vehemently about? Will we hear each other? Will we engage in a manner that reflects the integrity we profess to be so important to us? Will we be critical thinkers or just accept what we are told by our peers or supervisors without doing our own homework? Will we create conditions for open debate or silence? Will we participate in this process or be a bystander? Will we make our students proud in this process?

As we draw nearer to a vote on consolidation, I am hearing increasing concerns that we are not bringing our best selves to the process. Some feel they are being bullied. Others feel they are being demonized. Many feel misunderstood. Increasing numbers of colleagues are worried about stating a position for fear of what it may mean for their career or their relationships with colleagues. All of these impacts sadden me because I have to believe these outcomes were not the intended ones.

So I ask that as we come down the home stretch of a very long and arduous journey, that we take care in our spoken and written words. That we recognize we will need each other long after this vote is taken. That we appreciate there are legitimately held beliefs on all sides of this issue. That we understand the courage it takes to have a stand that one knows will be at odds with many of your closest colleagues. And that, in the end, we can all say we brought our best selves to this issue of great importance to our shared profession.

I close with a quote from John Milton, shared with me by one of our best colleagues and teachers, Jim Rhatigan.

“When there is much desire to learn, there of necessity will be much arguing, much writing, many opinions; for opinions in good people is but knowledge in the making”