Leaders of the Undergraduate Council of Students canceled the group’s weekly general body meeting Wednesday due to its overlap with President Christina Paxson’s open forum to discuss campus norms and dialogue.
The Council would have spent the meeting approving categorizations of student groups and discussing student activities policies and resources with Timothy Shiner, director of Student Activities and the Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center, said Todd Harris ’14.5, UCS president.
This would have been the Council’s first meeting since the University announced it would not divest from companies that profit significantly from coal, a decision that has triggered controversy on campus. Last semester, UCS passed a resolution endorsing divestment, though resolutions typically are not binding from year to year.
But Council leaders did not want the 7:30 p.m. meeting to prevent members from attending an 8:30 p.m. open forum held by Paxson and aimed at fostering conversation about recent controversial University events, including a canceled lecture by New York City Police Department Commissioner Raymond Kelly, Harris said. The meeting would also have been the Council’s first gathering since Kelly’s lecture was stopped due to student protests Tuesday afternoon.
“We wanted to make sure UCS members had a chance to have a conversation with the whole community,” said Sam Gilman ’15, UCS vice president.
“Nothing is more important than coming together for a campus conversation,” Gilman added. “Student categorization can happen next week. This conversation had to happen tonight, and needs to continue.”
The Council will resume the categorization process at its general body meeting next week in addition to discussing the strategic planning process and hosting Mary Grace Almandrez, director of the Third World Center and assistant dean of the College, Harris said.
ADVERTISEMENT
