Kent State University should aspire to be an empathetic campus community.
That was the message President Todd Diacon delivered during his remarks at the Feb. 1 "MLK & Me" luncheon at the Kent Student Center.
"Now more than ever opportunities abound to practice what we preach," Diacon said. "To be empathetic. To strive to understand the thoughts, beliefs and concerns of others, even if we don’t agree with that person and what that person says."
Embodying his call to exhibit the values of kindness and respect in all that we do, Diacon asked directly for the university community to support members of the transgender community "who are feeling the sting of recently passed legislation in Ohio that prohibits gender-affirming care for minors, and that places additional requirements on such care for adults between the ages of 18 and 21."
He also called on all at Kent State to support Jewish and Muslim students and "empathize with the pressures they are under of late. Both groups have been confronted with hate, violence, antisemitism and Islamophobia and that is a heavy burden for our students and community members to bear. We can strive to understand and share their feelings, regardless of what each of us may think about what is happening in the Middle East."
View the president's remarks:
Diacon was one of several featured speakers who shared insight into the theme of "Living a Life of Love and Peace During Conflict" at an event that marked the first in a new university series called "Dialogue and Difference: A New Understanding."
"Empathy does not mean that I have to agree with you, or that you have to agree with me," Diacon said. "It does mean that at Kent State we aspire as a community, as a learning, living and loving community, to be empathetic with others. That we strive to understand and feel what others feel. Not agreement. Not a forced unanimity. Rather, freedom of speech, kindness and respect, and empathy."