Smith: Academia is a very different space because I know people who would say a rubric is a white way of knowing. [Laughs.] So, when it comes to mentioning things like this talking about social events and things like that, it’s a no-brainer. You talk about it, especially if it involves a downtrodden group.
And I think campuses should be neutral.
Yassa: Yeah, I agree. I think, in general, they should remain neutral because their communities are very diverse and they’re going to have many, many different opinions and they are going to be representing only one segment of that and not the others.
The only exception, it’s not truly an exception, just in terms of supporting communities that are impacted by a global event or something that happens to affect a certain group, being able to send a message to those individuals or a message of support to say, “We’re here for you, we realize your families have been impacted by this.”
Fixler: I mean, let’s take climate change as an example. Most companies in 2020, 2021 made pledges to go net zero.
Clip from World Economic Forum: Net zero.
Clip from Unilever ad: Net zero!
Clip from Shell ad: Net zero emissions by 2050.
Clip from United Airlines ad: 100 percent green by the year 2050.
Fixler: Everyone signed up to net zero. Go, Greta Thunberg. Let’s save the environment. But really, what did net zero achieve? It was just image control. It was form over substance.
So, I’m absolutely adamant that businesses should just focus on what they do best, make good products and services and stay completely out of the political.
