I think that one way to do that is to relate some of the values and themes of our Geneseo academic community to the conflict between the forces of human progress and the dark forces of hatred and fanatical intolerance. Your study of business and accounting in a liberal arts environment puts you on the front lines of that conflict. I don't mean this in a melodramatic sense, for I have every confidence that your physical safety is and will remain assured. I do mean that the training you are receiving, the careers that you are preparing for, and the beliefs that underlie a life in business are squarely opposed to the thinking and motivations of the group that perpetrated Tuesday's atrocities, and the thuggish pleasure that some people have taken in the death and destruction. I think it is important for us to talk about them, and for you to take pride in the values at the center of the College and the School of Business.
Tolerance is a central value.
My idea of tolerance is a predisposition to understand and respect people and traditions that differ from ours. We learn this in our classroom behavior, in courses that teach us about the world and its peoples, and in our clubs and other activities. Tolerance does not mean an automatic acceptance of things simply because they're different. Rather, for me it means that we will assume the intellectual responsibility of impartially and thoughtfully investigating new experiences and view points. It means that we'll give a fair hearing to things that are outside our previous experience.