Good evening,

Thank you. I’m Glenn Hansen, president of the Faculty Association and Senate.

Today Senate discussed recent events. We are all affected by the most recent shootings at Umpqua Community College last week. During my first term as president our community mourned the death of the individuals killed at Northern Illinois University. Last Monday our community was shaken by the bomb threat on our campus. Too often we wonder and worry about where the next act of violence will happen, Monday we were reminded it could be here.

While these terrible acts continue to happen, the debate rages on as to how to solve the problem. We act as if there is one solution and one right answer. Just as violence has become part of our culture, so has the competitive mindset that our side needs to win and who has the better team. Cubs or the Sox; Republican or Democrat. We see the need to prevail everywhere and forget collaboration and that no one person has all the right answers; except the instructor in the class.

If we are going solve even the little problems, let alone the biggest ones, we need to remember that the solution will be the result of many ideas and small steps. Maybe it’s guns, mental health, video games, popular culture, or many other possibilities. What is certain is that if we don’t collaborate, give a little, and stop looking for THE ONE ANSWER, there will no solutions.