06/10/2026
Check out this letter to the Editor in today's Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, penned by LWVWC Board Member Wendy Finn!
"UA president showed up, embraced civil talk"
Retired Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria, the University of Arkansas System president, didn't have to drive from Little Rock to Fayetteville and back to speak to the June 3 League of Women Voters of Washington County meeting, which I attended as a member. He didn't have to accept the league's invitation to discuss how to have hard conversations with people from different economic backgrounds, lived experiences, cultures and belief systems. It wasn't a paying gig. He could have respectfully declined due to his busy schedule. But he didn't. Rather, he made the time for it and said, "Nobody has ever asked me to speak on that topic before." He welcomed this opportunity to help the group explore what it looks like to bridge division, foster civic engagement and have real, hard discussions that take more patience than many of us can muster.
This is a man who had the courage to address United States Air Force Academy cadets, telling them that if they can't treat someone from another race or gender with dignity and respect, then they need to get out. (The Air Force Academy's 2017 video of those remarks went viral online, with more than 1.4 million views.) He is also the man who, retiring after 35 years in the Air Force, chose to pursue a career in higher education in a state where education and free speech have been under attack by our state legislators and our governor. He is no stranger to navigating difficult scenarios.
So, when I read Doug Thompson's article on June 4, I was disappointed he chose to focus on rehashed news as controversial clickbait, instead of the better story: that President Silveria showed strong leadership by welcoming respectful civil discourse. He did not shy away from conflict, criticism or differing opinions, and he demonstrated by showing up that we would all be better off if we could learn to exercise that muscle. This is the true work of democracy. We don't have to agree on everything. But we do need to make the effort to listen openly with the intent to understand.
I'm grateful our community fosters a space for this work. Let's make that go viral.
Wendy Finn
Fayetteville
https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2026/jun/10/letters-to-the-editor/?opinion