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Standing up & speaking out
The Senate response
by Jobetta Hedelman | Freelance Editor
Students from several programs came to the April 18 Student Senate meeting to air their concerns over institutionalized racism within the ASUO, and some senators say the discussion should continue so everyone on both sides has a better understanding of the issues at hand and of the Senate process.
The senators themselves have a wide range of views on the meeting and the issues that arose when close to 50 students from multicultural programs crowded into the EMU Board Room holding signs accusing Senators of racism and unprofessional behavior while wearing scraps of cloth with the word "silenced" written on them over their mouths.
The students came to support Sen. Nate Gulley in an ethics hearing brought against him and to speak about racism in the Senate. Gulley was charged with several "unprofessional" behaviors, including accusing several other Senators of racism in a statement made to the Emerald earlier in the year. The ethics hearing turned into a discussion of racism within the Senate when Gulley used his rebuttal time to allow the students to speak.
Sen. Natalie Kinsey, who brought the original charges against Gulley, said she thought Gulley used the discussion of racism to take attention away from a time intended to discuss his behavior. She said the Senate as a whole has had difficulties getting along this year and this meeting "was the tipping point."
"I felt very confused as to what they were actually saying," she said. "Were they accusing specific people of racism or talking about institutional racism? I was willing to listen to the discussion of institutional racism but when they accuse us of being racists, it puts us on the defense and makes it very difficult to work with someone."
Kyle McKenzie, who seemed to be the subject of many of the accusations (protesters held signs accusing McKenzie of among other things, saying "If it were up to me, I'd kill them all" in reference to the people of Iran), only had one thing to say about the meeting.
The senators themselves have a wide range of views on the meeting and the issues that arose when close to 50 students from multicultural programs crowded into the EMU Board Room holding signs accusing Senators of racism and unprofessional behavior while wearing scraps of cloth with the word "silenced" written on them over their mouths.
The students came to support Sen. Nate Gulley in an ethics hearing brought against him and to speak about racism in the Senate. Gulley was charged with several "unprofessional" behaviors, including accusing several other Senators of racism in a statement made to the Emerald earlier in the year. The ethics hearing turned into a discussion of racism within the Senate when Gulley used his rebuttal time to allow the students to speak.
Sen. Natalie Kinsey, who brought the original charges against Gulley, said she thought Gulley used the discussion of racism to take attention away from a time intended to discuss his behavior. She said the Senate as a whole has had difficulties getting along this year and this meeting "was the tipping point."
"I felt very confused as to what they were actually saying," she said. "Were they accusing specific people of racism or talking about institutional racism? I was willing to listen to the discussion of institutional racism but when they accuse us of being racists, it puts us on the defense and makes it very difficult to work with someone."
Kyle McKenzie, who seemed to be the subject of many of the accusations (protesters held signs accusing McKenzie of among other things, saying "If it were up to me, I'd kill them all" in reference to the people of Iran), only had one thing to say about the meeting.
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dorothy
posted 4/30/07 @ 2:04 AM PST
The problem is,that there is the "politically correct"thing going around,where every problem of communication gets accused of being "racially discriminating",and people finally get turned off to "PC" attitudes. (Continued…)
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