Student self-governance is not perfect — in fact, the response of student organizations last semester to an obstinate Board of Visitors highlights the structural inadequacies of trying to resist a governing body that has no incentive to listen to its constituents. From pleading votes of no confidence to, in the end, ineffective protests on the Lawn, the Board responded time and again by thumbing its nose at students. Though perhaps a new Board and University president will be more accepting of the concerns of students, these new developments should be understood more as an act of grace on the part of benevolent leaders, rather than the product of any past student action.
Faculty fare little better, holding established positions in the University and yet still being roundly ignored. One might think students and faculty could unite over their shared powerlessness and support each other in their efforts for meaningful influence, yet it is clear that at least one group of faculty continues to brood over their relative obscurity — the American Association of University Professors. After University President Scott Beardsley’s commitment to funding for Student Council, continuing a gift started by former University President Jim Ryan, AAUP-U.Va. leaders concluded that the Student Council resolution professing support for Beardsley’s term could only be the result of an insidious quid pro quo — a conclusion as ridiculous as it sounds and equally as damaging to the system of self-governance at the University.
After positing Beardsley as the chief conspirator in a fictitious plot to “bribe” students, AAUP-U.Va. President Greg Mentore also belittles the intelligence of University student leaders by declaring them shortsighted. Moving past the ironic inference that a group of apparently imprudent students could engage in a treacherous deal with the president of one of the top public universities in the nation, the statements by AAUP-U.Va. leaders are worse for their patronizing language than their silly accusations. Their statement reveals that the student self-governance they have been supporting is only valuable when the product of that self-governance accords with their own beliefs. When their views diverge with that of student groups, the opinions of those students can only be the product of irrational action, rather than reasoned debate.
Indeed, it is not credible that students have formed any sort of duplicitous deal with Beardsley. If one believes that the same students who organized protest after protest against both University administration and the government of the United States are the same students who could sacrifice all their principles for money to fund student services, then one never had a high opinion of students to begin with. This fundamental distrust is painfully obvious in the statements by AAUP-U.Va., and it is a distrust that does a disservice to both faculty and students. For their part, student leaders such as Student Council President Clay Dickerson have done an admirable job of maturely standing up for students in a way that a select group of faculty cannot accept.
AAUP-U.Va.’s statements in the Daily Progress rely on a fundamental misconception of the goal of student self-governance — that it is only valuable when it conforms with those of faculty. In fact, student self-governance is, always has been and always will be for students alone. This fact must be recognized by all those in the University community who wish to work with the student body on issues concerning all. If student views align with those of faculty, all the better for both groups. When they deviate, however, student voices will always advocate for the interests of students. To behold such a deviation and classify it as imprudence is to indict the entire nature of student self-governance and misunderstand who exactly student voices represent.
While almost certainly not representing the views of all faculty, having such an active group like AAUP-U.Va. making these baseless claims will only continue to denigrate efforts for more student and faculty representation in University leadership. If faculty only see students as a mere prop they can display to further their own ends, University leadership — who already lacks a substantial reason to meaningfully interact with other stakeholders — will have ample reason to avert its eyes from the car crash that is this current spat.
The uncomfortable truth is that both students and faculty are limited in the tools they can use to resist an encroaching Board and administration. Yet, the very prerequisite for bargaining on an even footing is gaining the respect of your fellow negotiators. When a group of faculty, one of the two most prominent stakeholders on Grounds, instead chooses to engage in unfounded charges of misconduct, the reasons for University leadership to take the views of faculty or students seriously further dwindle. Representatives of AAUP-U.Va. should recognize that the fate of students and faculty is intertwined. Both groups suffer from a lack of meaningful influence at the University, and both groups must work together to ensure their voices are heard. And, when those voices diverge, each group must show a decent respect to that genuine variance of opinion. Statements such as those from AAUP-U.Va., while also being pitiful, actively denigrate this bond of respect that is desperately needed.
Michael King is the Opinion Editor of The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at opinion@cavalierdaily.com.
The opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of The Cavalier Daily. Columns represent the views of the author alone.
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