On Saturday, Feb. 9, 2002, students exercised their right to free speech at Saturday's trustee luncheon. Despite the fact that the events of Saturday are currently being viewed as an attack, students were simply practicing their right to assemble peacefully, as they presented the audience with their conception of the tense atmosphere currently found on campus. The students who addressed the attendees of the trustee luncheon did not intend to create a hostile environment and they welcomed the voicing of dissenting opinions.
Some might argue that the students, who are perhaps being portrayed as unnecessarily argumentative and discourteous, were in fact more respectful of others' opinions than several individuals who left the luncheon without hearing what the students had to say. The students who addressed the attendees of the trustee luncheon did not intend to create a hostile environment and they welcomed the voicing of dissenting opinions. However, it was hard for me to accept the fact that they were listening, when you see individuals' nervousness on their faces. When diversity was seen for once on this campus (in Dewick), all seemed hesitant to commence the program at 12 noon, and moved it to 1 p.m. in hopes that the crowd would die out. Fortunately, everyone stood strong in their beliefs and if anything the audience grew.
A non-monetary request made by myself, with the support of others, was to "...hold the administration accountable for not fulfilling the promise of community set forth in the Pachyderm's Code of Conduct, page 54, and in other University literature." This point goes far beyond freedom of speech in campus publications. There is not enough attention paid to day-to-day hate crimes. How many people knew about the luncheon with the trustees? Very few. Students, who pay thousands to be heard, should know. Was not the format altered to allow for interaction? Why wasn't it publicized? Interaction, with the student body, is more than just having lunch or dinner with a handful of student senate members. Perhaps there were students who wanted to pose more questions in the remaining seven minutes, however because of the lack of communication on the administration's part they will also remain unanswered. It seems to me that many of the problems that are currently facing the University boil down to a lack of communication between students, faculty, and administration. Without consistent and comprehensive communication, changes will never be made.
I believe that Saturday's luncheon was a wonderful step towards better communication on campus. The students voiced their opinions and called for change. It is unfortunate that the trustees and administration seemed to not understand the reciprocal nature of communication. Students posed a variety of questions to the trustees and others in attendance.
Questions are made to be answered, and the students are still waiting for their answers. The students' questions were avoided, set aside and/or ignored; not an uncommon occurrence in the history of the University. As Danika Kleiber pointed out "...these problems will not go away, no matter how many graduating classes you see go by with a sigh of relief". In response to Mitch Lunn's statement on Tuesday, "students acted immaturely with bitterness, irresponsibility, and anger. Students should not have attended this luncheon with the vision that by simply voicing their problems with Tufts they would be immediately answered and fixed," we are all human beings, we know and understand there is no immediate cure for this, but it has been here for DECADES, enough said.
As far as feelings go, anyone is entitled to express what they feel, and bitterness wasn't an appropriate adjective. Why weren't you there? Who is the majority? And what makes you think that this majority is "very pleased"? All in all, I thank everyone for their support, and regardless of some people's opinions, the truth is, it was a simple, VERY civil luncheon, where students showed support and observed indifference.
Noris Chavarria is a sophomore majoring in Spanish and Anthropology.
