Rep furthering dialogue on trustee-student relations

In an attempt to mend fissures that resulted from an incident at a meeting held last year, Trustee Representative Matthew Kane will facilitate a dialogue on student-trustee relations at the Nov. 2 Board of Trustees meeting.

The dialogue is intended to address the future of student-trustee relations rather than focus on the details surrounding last February's open forum, where heated interaction between students and Trustees left some with negative feelings. "The trustee luncheon last year pointed out the fact that there needs to be better communication between trustees and students," Kane said. "This [dialogue] is a result of that increased awareness."

During February's gathering of trustees and campus leaders, over 100 students crowded into Dewick-Mac Phie Dining Hall and proceeded to ask questions and voice complaints on what they called the University's insufficient attention to diversity. The question-and-answer session at February's luncheon became confrontational and more negative than intended, one student participant said.

A collaboration of students had extensively prepared questions to ask trustees, but a few individuals who had not participated in this process undermined their efforts with a more confrontational approach, the student said. The purpose of the organized questions was to bring important issues to the front and show that the students felt uncomfortable and unsafe at Tufts, the student said.

Since February, the relationship between the two groups has been strained. But November's meeting, Kane said, will provide an opportunity "to quell any lasting resentment between students and trustees." Kane, who serves as trustee representative on the academic affairs committee, will encourage conversation on the state of relations at the committee's meeting.

Each of the three Tufts Community Union (TCU) senators who serve as trustee representatives presents their main agenda to their respective committee once during the year. But following "the strife that emerged last year," Kane asked to be placed on the agenda for a special presentation, separate of the presentation he will make to the committee later this year.

The request was unusual, as past trustee representatives have generally not asked for additional speaking time outside of their allocated yearly presentations. Although the presentation "does not involve [his] specific program of work as a trustee representative... it does fall within [his] responsibility of representing students to the Board of Trustees," Kane said.

After discussing the idea with President Larry Bacow, Provost Jamshed Barucha, and Trustee and Chair of the academic affairs committee Joyce Barsam, Kane was granted fifteen minutes of the Nov. 2 committee meeting to initiate discussion. "It shows that the administration and the trustees are very receptive to this idea, talking about trustee-student relations," he said.

The student presentation is intended only to gather trustees' opinions on relations and how to improve them, not to present student grievances. Kane "will be asking for feedback about student-trustee relationships on campus," Trustee Secretary Linda Dixon said.

All three trustee representatives may make a more formal presentation on the matter in February, Dixon said.

Kane plans to listen to trustees' "hopes for making the situation better" and answer questions, but will not actively participate in the dialogue, he said.

Many in student government welcome Kane's move. Dialogue "needs to happen," said sophomore Chike Aguh, who serves on the culture, ethnicity, and community affairs committee of the senate and participated in last year's forum, so that trustees understand students' concerns. "Hopefully, all parties involved will keep their minds open and put whatever bad feelings they have behind them and work towards making Tufts better," he said.

The upcoming student presentation "is a good method" to begin working towards this goal, said senior Joi Brown, who participated in last year's forum. It is appropriate "to start off very general," she said, and important "that [Kane] doesn't bring specific issues outside of" the need for conversation between trustees and students and for students' voices to be heard.