Walk-Out in Protest
An Exercise in Free Speech: Students Walk-Out in Protest of Wyatt Administration
Monmouth College students gathered outside of Wallace Hall on Friday, March 19 to voice concerns over the current administration’s leadership.
Students expressed their feels that they are being excluded from the decisions being made about the future of the college. Concerns of students include the college’s current financial state, racism and sexual assault on campus, lack of consistency in disciplinary action, and lack of transparency about how these decisions are being made.
“I think it’s important for students to use their voice and speak out on things that are important to them,” said Freshman Anita Gandara. “It’s important to include students in the conversations that are happening with faculty and administration”.
Other students expressed similar concerns about their voices not being heard or valued. Students at the walk-out expressed frustration with the lack of transparency and feel that they are being ignored by administration.
“I decided to participate in the walk-out because I feel that as a student my voice has not been heard,” said Sophomore Annie Suman. “I feel like there are a lot of things that we need to improve on in the college that we have not been able to. And, I feel like the president and administration have seriously hindered our progression.”
“I feel like there should be a lot more clarity with the student body with what’s kind of happening behind closed doors because ultimately we’re the ones here who are getting an education and we’re the ones who kind of build up the school community. So it should be within reason that we can engage in making these decisions as well,” said Gandara
Monmouth College President Clarence Wyatt responded to the concerns of students by asking students to bring their concerns to him directly. “I would ask [students] to do what, frankly what I had wished they had done to begin with, which is to come see me… I’m not an intimidating person I don’t believe… I think I am an accessible person… so I wish people would have come to me with specific concerns and specific questions ahead of time, rather than what was done…it would have also given us the opportunity to talk about some of the information that was presented because as I said at the event itself, a good bit of the information that was presented is inaccurate, much more taken out of context” said Wyatt.
President Wyatt also encouraged students to come to coffee with him at Einstein’s on Wednesdays at Noon to discuss whatever in on their minds and to take advantage of their student government representatives. “Certainly going to be working with Abi, Brenda, and Liz, and Scots Student Senate for the remainder of the year and on into whoever the new officers are next year to be sure that those lines of communication are open.” said Wyatt.
“We’re eager to talk with students, to be able to provide full information, correct misinformation, and correct misinformation where misinformation exists because we’re here for you. That may sound cheesy but that’s why we’re all here. We’re here to make this experience happen for you all.”
However, some students are concerned that if they express concerns to administration that they will be targeted for speaking out. Organizer stated that a group walk-out provided more protection from retaliation than an individual addressing concerns.
“I feel like if I say anything [to administration] I am going to get backlash or that I will have something done to my academic progression,” said Suman.
Many students said that they are anxious about the school’s current financial state and that the college has not provided details to students about how budget cuts are being decided and the long term effects of those reduction. Students expressed concern as they witness their advisors and favorite faculty getting laid off and if they will be able to graduate in the program they have declared.
At the recent general meeting for Scots Student Senate, Dean of the Faculty Mark Willhardt described how the departments and programs will be restructured to accommodate the loss of laid off faculty.
“There are rules for doing any sort of thing like this. There is an organization called the AAUP, the American Association of University Professors, and what the AAUP does is they have a thing called the Redbook. It sets out a series of guidelines for the way colleges should operate” said Willhardt. “So there’s the budget committee, the Faculty Institutional Development Committee. They are charged with anything that has to do with hiring and firing…They look at the history of the department, they look at the needs, the whole of the college and then they make recommendations to the dean. The dean then takes that to the president and the CFO and we make some decisions.”
Dean Willhardt assured students that as the school reduces faculty numbers to match the current number of enrolled students that they will be able to graduate in the program they are in now.
“The most important thing for students to remember is that if you start a major or minor program at Monmouth College, you’ll finish that program at Monmouth College. There may be programs that will shift and change; that staffing will shift and change but it’s both our goal and our responsibility to help you finish your degrees,” said Willhardt. “The truth is that we have an extra weight on that because the higher learning commission which is the body that accredits us as a college… demands that if we change program somewhere along midstream that we have a teach-out plan for every single student who started that major. So that if you start your major here and a program does happen to get eliminated or faculty get eliminated we will make sure that there is a way for you to complete your degree.”
While there is reassurance from administration on degree completion, students still have expressed concern about how the college is spending money.
“My biggest concern is how we are spending our money and what we are doing with it. I am an accounting student and hearing all of the numbers that I did at the walk-out by one of the speakers, it was very concerning and I don’t feel like we are spending our money in a good way” said Suman.
Wyatt also assured students that while the college faces budgetary challenges that have been exacerbated by the pandemic, that there is a long-term plan to move forward. “We are working hard to deal with these and to deal with these in a way that will make sure we are here for the long run,” said Wyatt.
Also, Wyatt described Monmouth College’s strong endowment that is around $127 million and the many assets that provide the college some financial security that other small liberal arts colleges do not have.
“We have the ability to get through these tough couple years and to build a strong and stable college. One of the things that is essential, is to increase demand. We need to be a place that is even more attractive to good strong students. Much of that comes down to being sure that we have a curricular program and a co-curricular program that is meaningful to you all, that is relevant, that speaks to where you all are and what you want right now.” said Wyatt.
Beyond financial problems, some students participated in the walk-out to express their disapproval with the school’s handling of racism and sexual assault on campus.
“I feel like not only the financial issues that were addressed at the walk-out but also we have issues on racial inequality on campus and the way we’ve dealt with that as well as sexual harassment. The emails he sends out about public events, they’re inappropriate, they don’t actually address the issue, he’s doing nothing,” said Freshman Kylie McDonald. “I would like to see the school become a safe place for all the people on campus…people don’t feel safe on campus. People don’t feel safe when they see the person that sexually assaulted them walk around. People don’t feel safe when their entire identity is undermined by other members of the campus.”
During the walk-out, McDonald was disheartened by what she perceived as disrespect from President Clarence Wyatt “After watching everybody give their speeches about what was happening, the entire time he was standing in front of me, pacing around, muttering under his breathe, talking to other faculty members, being disrespectful in general and so I went up after everyone else’s speeches and I called him out for it,” said McDonald. “ Afterwards, he came up to me and he goes ‘I was pacing because I was cold’. We were all cold. We were all standing forward, being respectful, not speaking over others and so I just felt his disrespect needed to be called out. People needed to see even when we did this so he would listen to us, he still wouldn’t.”
Some students at the walk-out were calling for Wyatt to resign because they have lost confidence in his administration’s leadership.
“I feel that [Wyatt] should step down because he has had since 2014… and he has done nothing but make this college worse. It is not getting better. He has had his chance and I think the only thing he can do now is step down.” said McDonald.
The April Faculty meeting held on 4/6 discussed a motion of No Confidence in the Administration and Presidency of Clarence Wyatt:
Voting "YES" in terms of No Confidence - 72% (56 members)
Voting "NO" against the No Confidence Motion - 28% (22 members)
The Faculty Senate will write a statement on the vote and share with Administration.“I decided to participate in the walk-out because I feel that as a student my voice has not been heard. I feel like there are a lot of things that we need to improve on in the college that we have not been able to. And, I feel like the president and administration have seriously hindered our progression.” Said Suman
Not all students who participated in the walk-out want Wyatt to resign but are calling for change.
“I would just hope that we can form more bonds and hopefully build up that trust again with the Wyatt administration because it’s not something that we should have negative tension towards. Like we should be able to feel comfortable and have really good communication with our administration in hopes of building a better community here at Monmouth,” said Gandara.
Erin Henkel - News and Politics Editor