Students complain they are not heard

Almost every word out of the mouths of students on University Council yesterday was a complaint that they are not being heard. From adding faculty members to the Safety and Security Committee, to splitting the Judicial Inquiry Officer position, students said that on the issues that affect them the most, they are being slowly silenced. "We are one step closer to being gagged," United Minorities Council Chairperson You-Lee Kim said after the meeting. "What you see is a trend emerging, and that's what's dangerous." Additions of faculty members to two University Council committees provoked the strongest student protest. Faculty proponents of the additions justified them by saying that faculty-student ratios are currently different on each University Council committee. But graduate student leader Susan Garfinkel pointed out that the Book Store Committee, the other committee to which faculty additions were proposed, did not have a ratio consistent to the Safety and Security Committee. Undergraduate Assembly member David Rose said after the meeting that he thinks each committee is different and distinct and should be looked at that way. Some faculty members said that faculty representation lends a different and more consistent point of view to committees. During the meeting, some faculty seemed perturbed by the suggestion that students and faculty are on opposite sides of most issues. Past Faculty Senate Chairperson David Hildebrand, visibly frustrated, asked if students and faculty were warring factions. He also pointed out that faculty do not act as a monolith. "Surely in my experience, a unified block of faculty is an oxymoron to beat them all," Hildebrand said. But Undergraduate Assembly Vice Chairperson Ethan Youderian questioned after the meeting why faculty members are pushing for increases if there is not animosity. "If numbers aren't important, why are they trying to change them?" Youderian asked. Despite student protests, the Safety and Security Committee proposal passed in a close 22 to 18 vote, while the Book Store Committee change was tabled until next month's meeting. Faculty members downplayed the impact of the increased faculty representation. Helen Davies, a long-time member of the Safety and Security Committee, said that although she voted against the faculty additions, she does not think there will be a great impact on that committee because the members always make decisions based on consensus. Although Davies conceded that students are more sensitive to the issue of crime, she said faculty members have a long-term involvement in the issue because they are at the University for a longer time. David Pope, who chaired the Oversight Committee and co-chaired the Committee to Diversify Locust Walk, said that when student voices are listened to carefully and considered equally, representation should not be a problem.

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