Students speak out in response to racist emails
Dylan Breslin-Barnhart
Issue date: 11/2/06 Section: News
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Last Friday's student-led rally united hundreds of Union students against intolerance and bigotry in a display of resolve that bolted administrators to their feet and grabbed the attention of two area newspapers and five television news channels. In an apparent effort to maintain the passion surrounding the rally, student leaders have kicked off an unofficial campaign of exposure.
At a Monday night meeting, various officers of groups including the Black Student Union, Inter-Fraternity Council, Student Forum, African and Latino Alliance of Students, Phi Iota Alpha Fraternity, and the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity planned their next moves. In a continuing quest for accountability and fact, this diverse student panel decided to follow up the rally with a planned question and answer session between Union students, President Ainlay, and Dean Leavitt. This forum will be open to all Union students and represents an opportunity for the administration to continue a dialogue regarding questions and concerns arising from the death threat email scandal. The date and time for the question and answer session has not been finalized as of yet but will probably occur during the midday student lunch hour in the upcoming weeks.
Brian Gulack, '07, President of the Student Forum, emphasized the need for a continuance of student involvement in current Union politics. He does not want the student "response [to the hate emails to]…die down" and referenced events in Union's recent past where students mobilized around an important cause only to abandon it soon after. Perhaps these fears speak to the importance of initiating a question and answer dialogue with the administration. Gulack added that "we need to increase communication between people on campus" in order to bridge the gaps "between people of different backgrounds." In other words, increased communication leads to increased understanding which results in increased tolerance.
Na'eem Muhammad,'08, President of Alpha Phi Alpha and Chairman of the African and Latino Alliance of Students, commented with a similar sense of optimism but aimed more directly at the Union administration. Muhammad argued that the hate email scandal put Dean Leavitt in "an awkward situation" because the "college hasn't put him in a position" with enough authority to cut through the bureaucratic red tape limiting his ability to effectively react. As Muhammad said, "If [Leavitt] was allowed to do his job, he wouldn't have to say 'go to the President'" in response to requests that currently become just referrals up the bureaucratic command chain.
At a Monday night meeting, various officers of groups including the Black Student Union, Inter-Fraternity Council, Student Forum, African and Latino Alliance of Students, Phi Iota Alpha Fraternity, and the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity planned their next moves. In a continuing quest for accountability and fact, this diverse student panel decided to follow up the rally with a planned question and answer session between Union students, President Ainlay, and Dean Leavitt. This forum will be open to all Union students and represents an opportunity for the administration to continue a dialogue regarding questions and concerns arising from the death threat email scandal. The date and time for the question and answer session has not been finalized as of yet but will probably occur during the midday student lunch hour in the upcoming weeks.
Brian Gulack, '07, President of the Student Forum, emphasized the need for a continuance of student involvement in current Union politics. He does not want the student "response [to the hate emails to]…die down" and referenced events in Union's recent past where students mobilized around an important cause only to abandon it soon after. Perhaps these fears speak to the importance of initiating a question and answer dialogue with the administration. Gulack added that "we need to increase communication between people on campus" in order to bridge the gaps "between people of different backgrounds." In other words, increased communication leads to increased understanding which results in increased tolerance.
Na'eem Muhammad,'08, President of Alpha Phi Alpha and Chairman of the African and Latino Alliance of Students, commented with a similar sense of optimism but aimed more directly at the Union administration. Muhammad argued that the hate email scandal put Dean Leavitt in "an awkward situation" because the "college hasn't put him in a position" with enough authority to cut through the bureaucratic red tape limiting his ability to effectively react. As Muhammad said, "If [Leavitt] was allowed to do his job, he wouldn't have to say 'go to the President'" in response to requests that currently become just referrals up the bureaucratic command chain.
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