At noon on Feb. 20, as the college’s Board of Trustees met behind closed doors to discuss the future of the college and approve the college’s budget, a group of students held their own meeting on the front steps of Founders Hall. From 12 – 3 p.m. more than 50 students took part in a special “Trustees Weekend Edition” of the Stump Speeches, which usually occur on Wednesdays at 12:45 p.m. on the stump outside of Founders Hall. Students with name badges that said “Hello, my Name is: Uninvited Student” took to the stump to protest their exclusion from the meetings to trustees and fellow students and deliver the messages they would have brought to the Trustees had such an opportunity existed.
According to a flyer distributed by the students, “Up until this year, pre-selected students were always invited to dine with the Board of Trustees during their annual lunch. This year, students were pointedly told that they would not be invited.”
Sophomore Julie Sloane was one of the organizers of the event. “When I was informed that the Board of Trustees were coming for the weekend, but were not permitted to meet with students this time, I was deeply discouraged” Sloane said. “Our action was to show the board that we cared and desired to be involved in the decision making process at Guilford. If we were going to be denied a venue to create dialogue, then it seemed important that we create one ourselves.”
Students declared their activities a success; “All we really wanted to do was be heard. And we were – at about 2 p.m., the vice president of the board of trustees came out and spoke to a few students one-on-one, without interference” first-year Adam Waxman, another of the group’s organizers, said.
Sophomore Lucy Joyce decided to stop in front of Founders Hall and listen to the Stump Speeches. Afterwards she talked to Vic Cochran, the Vice President of the Board of Trustees. “He seemed like he generally wanted to know what we felt and was happy to hear what we had to say,” Joyce said. “I wanted all the trustees to be there, but it seemed like there wasn’t any time.”
According to Cochran, last weekend’s sessions were packed full of committee meetings, and individual members of the Board have discussed coming to campus earlier in the future in order to have more time to meet with students. Cochran said he enjoys working with students like senior Floyd McKissick, president of Community Senate, but often wishes there were more opportunities to meet with students who do not hold leadership positions on campus.
Cochran was one of the few trustees who took advantage of the opportunity to take a breather from meetings to spend time with students.
Although they felt their actions were well received by trustees, some students said they felt a little heat from administrators. “President Chabotar seemed a bit miffed about what we were doing” Waxman said. “When we were sitting outside Boren, he came up behind us and quietly asked why we were addressing the trustees instead of him”.
The disagreements between administrators and students were rooted in a clash over the classic strategic and ideological question of whether social change is most effectively achieved working within the system or outside it.
“I think that public protest is a legitimate vehicle for voicing concerns and getting justice,” Chabotar said. “In this instance, the students acted in good faith and with respect. But it should be the last and not the first resort.” In an e-mail dated Feb. 22, Chabotar explained to this reporter that he believes that using established channels and institutions first solves problems faster and more effectively. He also encouraged students to participate in decision-making by approaching student government, talking to student representatives who work with the Board of Trustees, attending community forums, talking to vice presidents, deans, and other administrators via e-mail or weekly office hours.
But students like junior Matt McGuire, who have tried official channels in the past and found them neither effective nor efficient, hope that actions like the most recent Stump Speeches will give them the chance to finally be heard. “It is frustrating to sit down and spend so much time chatting and never see anything changed.” McGuire said “I know they can’t address every student concern and that’s why I feel we need more opportunities to hear from more students”.