This past Tuesday I headed to Crowell to attend the forum with President Bennet and other members of the administration and like hundreds of other Wesleyan students, was unable to secure a seat inside. This wespeak, however, does not address that issue, but rather words that were said by some students outside of the Crowell Concert Hall. While I wholeheartedly agree on the importance of nearly all the issues being raised by students over the past weeks, months and in some cases years, and I realize the importance for action, I do not agree with the way we are speaking about the action that has been taken.
During the forum one student outside described the protest the day before where students filled the stairwell of President Bennet’s office and shut the lights off so staff members were working in the dark. Peter Patton described such action as in violation of the code of non-academic conduct. One student asked, “What do we have to say to that?” Others cheered and responded “Hell yeah.” Hell yeah? I disagree with this sentiment entirely. We should be saying, “Wow. It really sucks we had to go to such drastic measures to be heard. It really sucks the administration would not listen to us when we tried other tactics. We did not want to take that course of action on Tuesday but we were left with no other choice.”
Later in the Forum students outside, angry about not being let in, wanted to charge into Crowell to disrupt the meeting. Why? Why would we disrupt something we worked so hard to attain and so clearly undermine the cause we are fighting for? Granted Crowell was not the ideal space for the Forum due to its limited seating capacity, but it was still a step in the right direction. Charging into Crowell, whether it was several students or a large group of students, undermines the cause of the entire student body, many who disagree with such tactics. It makes us appear to care more about being loud and aggressive than actually enacting change. Disrupting the meeting inside, the first step to a productive dialogue would be incredibly detrimental to the cause. Absolutely nothing good would come from such an action.
At the end of the meeting other students suggested we figure out where Bennet was going to leave the building and block him in. Again why, why? What would that possibly accomplish? After a productive meeting, an important first step for change, why would we go undermine our cause?
I realize the sentiment that I am criticizing only reflects the views of a small population of the student body yet their actions weaken the cause for everyone. Additionally, this small group often seems to be loud enough to overpower the majority of the school that disagrees with such tactics. The things we are fighting for are real and important. I challenge all students to question what you want in this struggle; to achieve the aims we are asking for or to be loud and angry in a way that is unproductive. Now that we have the administration in some sort of dialogue, no matter how small, lets attempt to work with them in a productive way to achieve our goals.
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