LC Statement regarding 1-6-21 Events in Washington, D.C.
Dear LC Community of faculty, staff, students, and friends of the College:
The recent events in Washington D.C. are an affront to all we stand for at Landmark College. The violent actions violate our RUSH principles which we feel are important as a lodestar whether you are a student, faculty member, or staff member at LC.
While the College has a growing emphasis on professional programs and career-readiness, it is also our foundation as a liberal arts institution that guides us. A liberal arts education is not about studying and knowing a broad range of disciplines, topics, and fields; it is about the connections between disciplines and areas. It is a way to piece together an understanding of ever-changing and sometimes impossibly complex events in our lives. It is about understanding that interconnectedness is a fundamental truth, and need, for humans.
The actions in D.C., and all they stand for, provide another reason why Landmark College works hard to provide a liberal arts education to those interested in doing well but more importantly in doing good. The world must have more individuals with a strong understanding of the connections between seemingly disparate things and therefore better and more reliably recognize that disruption, discrimination, deception, and destruction are antithetical to a democracy that should be, and we believe is, good.
This alarming behavior did not ultimately prevent those at the Capitol from doing the right thing. However, like a rock tossed into a pond, the surface was disturbed momentarily but the bottom has been changed forever. It is up to us as educators and students to understand how to live with this change and find ways to persevere for future generations.
Thank you.
Peter Eden, Ph.D.
President
Landmark College