After Tuesday’s forum, I overheard only negative comments coming from the protest groups; they thought that they deserved immediate results because they had staged a protest. But that is not realistic; the administrative board cannot make impromptu decisions. The protestors’ disapproval of so-called “civilized” dialogue with an administration they believe has continually ignored them is leading them to overlook the benefits of all-inclusive student/faculty/administrative forums.
If forums like the one on Tuesday, with marked student and faculty attendance would meet regularly and aim to build upon one another, then the student body as a whole would become more informed and attentive to the grievances of small protest groups. Arguments that were streamlined, historical, logical and spirited — for example, Beck Straley’s argument for gender-neutral housing and Jesse Sommer’s concern about the future autonomy of WESU, appeared to win over the audience, and the faculty agreed to a continued dialogue. Imagine if in one month, the same four hundred students were face to face with Bennet, and the development of those same issues were addressed, showing that either the Administration had acknowledged students or ignored them — this would be a very powerful thing.
As we found out last semester, even though the president has office hours, not everyone can fit into his office at once. Is this not a more cooperative version of that day? These forums are a golden opportunity to press student concerns against the faculty with the presence of a vigilant student body holding them accountable. I know that forums like this have happened before, but if they are not held consistently, and if the history of those forums and the history of other protests are not brought to light, then the disgruntled students are starting from the beginning all over again. The protestors have won us a new arena to engage in battle — let’s keep the momentum going.
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