Over the weekend, students at my school, The University of Baltimore, found out that the commencement speaker for Fall 2017 is going to be Betsy DeVos. Many students are livid. The emails that have been going around have been civil and level-headed for the most part, but clearly, the SGA is not happy about this decision. The university's president made this decision without consulting with any students.
I am very happy to see President Schmoke's response to the outcry. It is honestly not how I expected this controversy to work out, but it is heartening to see.
Below, I have included screenshots of all relevant communications that I have received thus far and will continue to update as I receive further communications.
Tomorrow and Wednesday there will be gatherings on campus to discuss the issue. Today, there are two "walk outs," one at noon (as I write this) and one at 6:15pm. I hope to attend as many of these meetings as possible and will report anything interesting that I observe.
First, an email from the Student Government Association on 9/8 (highlighting in all screenshots not in original):
President Schmoke issued a statement on the morning of 9/11, which I received in an email at 11:45am:
The Student Bar Association replied to President Schmoke's statement on 9/11 at 11:19am:
The Vice President of Student Affairs, on 9/11 at 11:36am:
UPDATE: 9/11 3:15pm: The Baltimore Sun has picked up the story. The Real News were broadcasting live from the noon protest and will likely be broadcasting the 6:15 protest live as well.
UPDATE: 9/11 7:28pm: I attended most of the afternoon protest. I recorded video of many of the speakers and hope to have those uploaded soon. The main themes of many of the speakers were 1) their dislike for DeVos's policies and opinions and their belief that she would not represent the views and interests of the graduating students, and 2) frustration and anger that the students had no say whatsoever in the process of choosing a commencement speaker.
I am very happy to see President Schmoke's response to the outcry. It is honestly not how I expected this controversy to work out, but it is heartening to see.
Below, I have included screenshots of all relevant communications that I have received thus far and will continue to update as I receive further communications.
Tomorrow and Wednesday there will be gatherings on campus to discuss the issue. Today, there are two "walk outs," one at noon (as I write this) and one at 6:15pm. I hope to attend as many of these meetings as possible and will report anything interesting that I observe.
First, an email from the Student Government Association on 9/8 (highlighting in all screenshots not in original):
President Schmoke issued a statement on the morning of 9/11, which I received in an email at 11:45am:
The Student Bar Association replied to President Schmoke's statement on 9/11 at 11:19am:
The Vice President of Student Affairs, on 9/11 at 11:36am:
UPDATE: 9/11 3:15pm: The Baltimore Sun has picked up the story. The Real News were broadcasting live from the noon protest and will likely be broadcasting the 6:15 protest live as well.
UPDATE: 9/11 7:28pm: I attended most of the afternoon protest. I recorded video of many of the speakers and hope to have those uploaded soon. The main themes of many of the speakers were 1) their dislike for DeVos's policies and opinions and their belief that she would not represent the views and interests of the graduating students, and 2) frustration and anger that the students had no say whatsoever in the process of choosing a commencement speaker.
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