TO THE EDITOR:
Today Margaret Spellings is hosting a luncheon on our campus with an undisclosed group of “student leaders.”
Last time I checked, the student body had not authorized anyone (least of all student government elites) to speak on our behalf to Spellings, the most powerful and distrusted University administrator in the state.
If we don’t know who our representatives to Spellings are, how can we expect them to advocate for our interests?
How can we possibly hold mystery delegates accountable? We can’t: especially not if the meeting takes place behind closed doors.
Backdoor dealing is unacceptable: public dialogue is the only way to ensure that Spellings and other University bureaucrats keep their word in negotiations with students, faculty and staff.
There is an urgent need for us to form an autonomous student front, separate from student government and its allegiance to the administration, to represent us in official negotiations with the University, Spellings, the Board of Governors and the N.C. General Assembly.
When we collectively decide our shared interests and choose delegates we trust to represent us, the University and other governing bodies will not be able to hand-pick “our” representatives for us. The time for real student union and collective bargaining is now!
Schmoozing and networking over expensive hors d’oeuvres is not “student leadership.” Real leaders stand up for what’s right and refuse to participate in dog and pony shows with enemies of the people like Spellings.
