With no Council, forum held instead

With nearly 25 in attendance yesterday afternoon, student and faculty leaders compiled a list of topics which they said could have been discussed had this month's University Council meeting been held as scheduled. At an open forum held by the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly, students -- many of whom are Council members -- also complained that their voices are not being heard in the current Council setting. The forum was a response to the cancellation of the monthly Council meeting which was cancelled by members of the Steering Committee on the grounds that there were not enough issues to put on the agenda. GAPSA Chairperson Allen Orsi, who presided over the meeting, said the forum was designed to identify items for the agenda but he emphasized that the gathering was "not, in any way, trying to simulate a Council meeting." Potential agenda topics ranged from the question of whether the University should close the Veterinary School if the state withholds funding, to campus safety ,to the need for more student input in major University projects. Emeritus Molecular Biology Professor Robert Davies pointed out that many issues that were brought up yesterday had already been addressed in Almanac, the University's journal of record. Former GAPSA Chairperson Michael Goldstein pointed out that most students are unaware of Almanac's existence and, even if they know about it, it is geared toward faculty. "It doesn't mention that it's for students," Goldstein said. Davies was one of three faculty members in attendance, along with Faculty Senate Chairperson David Hildebrand and Council moderator Will Harris. Neither President Sheldon Hackney nor Provost Michael Aiken attended the forum. Undergraduate Assembly Chairperson Jeff Lichtman said while he was upset by the meeting's cancellation, he has fundamental concerns about the focus of Council meetings in general. "We've allowed the Council's direction to go away from the main issues on campus," Lichtman said. Others said they are concerned that their voices have been stifled by the current Council structure. "It is not an open situation," said graduate student activist Susan Garfinkel. "There are more and more mechanisms being put in place to control topics of discussion. Davies replied that he thinks students are being heard. By the end of the meeting, a list of 18 potential agenda topics had been compiled. Orsi said he was "satisfied" with the meeting's outcome. "I think it gave us a list of agenda items which was one of the goals," he said. "I think an open forum of any manner where people get to voice their opinion or their concerns about the University is necessary. I think that it's clear that people have things to say." Hildebrand said he, too, was pleased with the evening's outcome. "I think it broke loose some of the scar tissue a little more," he said. "It freed things up."

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