JACKIE ALBRECHT NEWS EDITOR
A resolution, proposed by Brian Jones, was passed unanimously at the faculty meeting Thursday that moved to express faculty support for students’ concerns and the energy in which the students exhibited them Wednesday during “Outfly for a Cause.”
The resolution went on to state that while some professors may not approve of the method in which students chose to protest, the faculty does support the ideas to which the students have committed themselves, Jones said.
“One of the things every professor cares about is overcoming student apathy,” Jones said.
Jones said he chose to make a resolution at the faculty meeting after the majority of the meeting had elapsed and nothing had been said about the student-led initiative.
“I thought it was intolerable to have had the students do this the day before, and we were just not going to say anything about it,” he said.
Jones said the unanimous voice vote shows that faculty supports the students despite varied opinions on the execution of how students chose to voice their concerns.
“The faculty is pretty much in alignment with the students on the issues. There are some areas we would have differences,” he said.
The Trumpet attempted to contact Dean of Faculty Ferol Menzel; however, the Trumpet was referred to Director of Communication and Marketing Saul Shapiro.
Shapiro said he understood the resolution had been passed during the faculty meeting and thinks it is important for the institution to move forward.
“What I think is important now,is that everyone does their homework and makes an effort to bring about some constructive actions,” Shapiro said.
Although Jones said he does care about the students’ concerns, he cares more about student passion.
“The world needs to change. It’s not going to change unless we have students who go out of here who care and are well organized enough to pull something like this off,” Jones said.
Kevin Fiene said he hopes a dialogue and a review of the processes to further include student voice result from the students’ movement and the faculty resolution.
“Students need to understand that having a voice and being included does not mean every thing will be solved overnight. However, students deserve the right to be involved in the process with a chance to impact and contribute to decisions,” Fiene said.
Wartburg administrators and student senate leaders released a joint press release Friday stating a forum will be held to discuss the concerns cited by the students.
The forum is something Interim President William Hamm wanted to occur, Shapiro said.
“We want the students to know that we are listening, and we want them to know both sides are communicating,” Shapiro said.
The date of the forum has yet to be decided; however, the administration and senate are working to set a framework for the forum, according to the release.