board of trustees report
i was among 30 or so umass amherst students who shlepped to the dartmouth campus for the board of trustees meeting. quick summary:
- the fee hike was approved, but for the first time in recent memory, there was non-unanimity among the appointed trustees. trustees boyle and carlin joined amherst student trustee valerie louis in voting to oppose the fee.
- trustee boyle presented a good argument for opposing fee increases. he pointed out that the board has been raising fees as a general revenue-raising measure, which is normally supposed to be covered by tuition. tuition has been frozen as a matter of state policy, and raising fees as a substitute for tuition means that the trustees are making decisions that ought to be made at the state level. this strikes me as an argument that might be effective at the level of the legislature.
- GEO vice president darren griffis told the trustees that in view of the boards present unaccountability, GEO will be asking legislators to get rid of the practice of appointed trustees, replacing it with elected trustees.
- GSS president uri strauss accused the trustees of failing to engage seriously with students regarding the disastrous administration of the amherst campus, and asked the trustees to become compliant with the state laws regarding campus councils, as a remedy.
- chair of the board james karam made this revealing remark: "you students have more influence with the legislature than we adults do".
the day before at the meeting of the trustees's committee on academic and student affairs, three amherst students - trustee louis, former SGA president eduardo bustamante, and co-chair of the ALANA caucus nate kupel - made a presentation rebutting president jack wilson's rosy report on the state of diversity at umass. president wilson conceded that the student report was correct, and the trustees decided to set up a task force to look into students' diversity concerns.
- the fee hike was approved, but for the first time in recent memory, there was non-unanimity among the appointed trustees. trustees boyle and carlin joined amherst student trustee valerie louis in voting to oppose the fee.
- trustee boyle presented a good argument for opposing fee increases. he pointed out that the board has been raising fees as a general revenue-raising measure, which is normally supposed to be covered by tuition. tuition has been frozen as a matter of state policy, and raising fees as a substitute for tuition means that the trustees are making decisions that ought to be made at the state level. this strikes me as an argument that might be effective at the level of the legislature.
- GEO vice president darren griffis told the trustees that in view of the boards present unaccountability, GEO will be asking legislators to get rid of the practice of appointed trustees, replacing it with elected trustees.
- GSS president uri strauss accused the trustees of failing to engage seriously with students regarding the disastrous administration of the amherst campus, and asked the trustees to become compliant with the state laws regarding campus councils, as a remedy.
- chair of the board james karam made this revealing remark: "you students have more influence with the legislature than we adults do".
the day before at the meeting of the trustees's committee on academic and student affairs, three amherst students - trustee louis, former SGA president eduardo bustamante, and co-chair of the ALANA caucus nate kupel - made a presentation rebutting president jack wilson's rosy report on the state of diversity at umass. president wilson conceded that the student report was correct, and the trustees decided to set up a task force to look into students' diversity concerns.
posted by Uri at 11:01 AM
<< Home