http://digital.lib.buffalo.edu/upimage/VF_I18G_026.pdf

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Part of Students want more from their president -- and they should, October 12, 2015

Text

.

*EdiSPECTRUM
torial*

Students want more from their
president

10/
12/1 5
Students seek inspiration an leadership
from their president when their university
faces complex problems and controversy.
At UB, it's becoming increasingly clear that
our president is failing us.
The Black Student Union's (BSU) protest during and after President Satish Tripathi's annual address Friday was yet another
example of the disconnect and divide between Tripathi and the student body.
Although BSU students held banners and
staged a walk out, their president - ourpresident - failed to even take note of them or
acknowledge them in real time. He simply
went on talking and praising the university's achievements as if the living, breathing,
angry students in front of him were invisible. He calmly finished his state of the university speech, woodenly mentioning that
the College of Arts and Sciences is dealing
with the "difficult conversation" and is "determining the boundaries" between free-

and

they should

dom of speechand cultural taboos..
meeting, he sends Vice President
this newspaper voiced concern that he had important
or another member of his cabip.et:
Only afterward, when asked about the not responded adequately to students _:_ he Biden
Tripathi's absence - and .the absence of
protest, did he say he supported students' issued a formal letter which acknowledged
right to protest1
the problem and outlined the difficulty the any of his representatives - says to students
What sort of message should we stu- project presented to a university trying · to that they and their concerns don't matter.
Tripathi did meet with student leaders,
balance sensitivity to minorities with freedents take from that?
What sort of leadership is that?
dom of speech. He did not take a firm including BSU, on Sept. 21, however, he
Does our president see us at all?
stand or even present a timeline when the cannot meet with BSU again until early NoBSU and other students are disappoint- university would create a policy.
vember because of an extended trip, BSU
"These questions won't be answered Vice President Deidree Golbourne told The
ed with the university's response to graduate
fine art student Ashley Powell's art project, overnight.It will take time, effort, and care- Spectrum Friday.
Is he hoping students will forget? If so,
in which she hung "White Only" and ''Black ful consideration on each of our parts to
Only" signs around campus last month.·But address them. But doing so is of critical im- he's wrong
they and we are also stunned by Tripathi's portan.ce for all of us, and will have lasting
BSU wants the university to take a stance.
impersonal handling of the situation.
value," Tripathi wrote in his open letter to
They don't necessarily want retribution
When the controversy first erupted, The Spectrum on Sept. 24.
or for Powell to be punished - although
Tripathi did not attend the BSU forum held
In the letter, he told students he could they do want some recognition of their
to discuss the signs nor listen to the anger not attend the BSU forum because he was hurt and anger. More than anything, they
the signs stirred in students. A week after traveling to Albany on SUNY business. want to feel that their university hears their
the incident, after major newspapers across Could he not have sent a representative? concerns.
the country, including The New York Times, Where was the provost? A vice provost?
CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
wrote about the controversy _ and after When President Obama cannot attend an

*EDITORIAL*
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

They want a president who shows
he cares and understands their
needs.
At its best, a university does this.
It empowers its students to raise
their voices. It encourages them
to face problems as a community
through open dialogue.
Dialogue is hard to have with an
empty chair.
In 2013, the last time we surveyed
students about UB leadership, 82
percent said Tripathi has minimal
presence on campus. Some students
said they had never seen him. A few
didn't know his name.
We addressed this directly with
Tripathi last spring. He said it comes
down to "perceptions."
"Perceptions are important but
they're just perceptions," Tripa­
thi told The Spectrum. "I'm on the
campus, multiple events every
week, where there are some stu­
dents there. I'm in the Commons,
in the Student Union building hav­
ing lunch ... But I'm meeting with
student groups all the time actual­
ly, and I think it's important for me
to talk to students to find out what
their concerns are."
Last week, students showed Tripa­
thi their concerns via a walkout.
He can improve this by being a
vigorous advocate for students and
giving attention to the issues they
care about.
Tripathi may very well be taking
this issue very seriously. He may
very well be upset his students are
angry and uncomfortable. He and
the administration may feel they are
doing enough.
But students clearly don't agree.
Tripathi has an opportunity to
get involved with student affairs on
campus and show the UB commu­
nity that he listens to the student
body.
He should take it.