On Wednesday afternoon, following the emergence of the vile Theta Tau video, the faculty senate meeting was joined by dozens of students, mostly students of color. They were understandably angry about the content of the video and the broader patterns of bigotry and exclusion of which it’s a part. They no doubt expected us, in our role as senators involved in shared university governance, to listen to their concerns and take action. Many of the students wanted to address the senate, and waited patiently for their turn to speak. We, as senators, owed them our attention.

Instead, what they got from us was an appalling display of arrogant indifference. The Senate Parliamentarian (who insures adherence to parliamentary procedure) and the Chair of the Agenda Committee (who is charged with running the meeting) were more concerned with following Robert’s Rules of Order than allowing students an opportunity to voice their opinions. While some students were permitted to address the senate, many others who had waited patiently were denied the opportunity to speak. As stipulated by Robert’s Rules, senators were given priority over (non-senator) students, and some made comments that can only be interpreted as dismissive and patronizing. Others simply wanted to get on with the meeting.

Rules and procedure are important. In normal times, they facilitate democratic decision making. But these are not normal times. Our campus has been affronted with a video that represents a deep-seated culture of racism, misogyny, homophobia and ableism of which our university is a part. Students are justifiably outraged. We as senators had an obligation to halt normal procedure, put rules aside and create a space for students to voice their concerns. We needed to listen, and we failed. Parliamentary procedure, codified in the arcane Robert’s Rules of Order, was employed by senate leadership to prevent students from speaking. Even if this was not the intent, it was the effect, and in the end, there’s no difference. After it became painfully clear that they wouldn’t be permitted to speak – to participate in this supposedly democratic forum as members of the university community – the students walked out en masse. Who can blame them?

Fellow senators: If you believe that following Robert’s Rules is more important than allowing students to express themselves after a hateful act on campus, then you are part of the problem.

Sincerely,

Tom Perreault

Professor and Senator

Department of Geography

Published on April 21, 2018 at 6:08 pm