Protests interrupt Board of Trustees meeting

Student activists began protesting during the Board of Trustees meeting Thursday afternoon. The group, which representatives said was not officially affiliated with the Occupy movement, openly discussed grievances against the University as the trustees simultaneously carried on with their scheduled business in the Frangipani Room in the Indiana Memorial Union.

Prior to the meeting, University employees distributed half-sheets of paper to student protesters. “Anyone may attend,” it read, adding that all sessions except for executive sessions are open to the public. The flyer also included notes about permissible conduct in the meeting and information about students’ right to protest.

The afternoon meetings of the finance and audit, finance and academic affairs and University policy committees began at 1 p.m. Students lined the hallway leading to the Frangipani Room prior to the meeting, and University employees checked backpacks and purses prior to entry.

Student protesters circulated their own flyers, expressing grievances with the way the University is run and the lack of student input when major decisions about student life are made.

“The meeting is public — anyone can attend — but there is not period for public comment,” the flyer read. “Therefore, we will be attending the meeting at 1PM on Thursday, April 12, and we intend to participate on equal terms with the trustees.”

Dan Rives, associate vice president for University human resources, began by discussing the tentative health care plan for 2013. About 20 minutes later, students’ cellphones began to ring repeatedly, and student protesters gathered on the left side of
the room.

The students began having a meeting as IU police officers stood nearby. The trustees continued with their meeting. Voices of protesters competed with those of the trustees as both meetings occurred simultaneously.

“I don’t think these people should be making decisions for us,” one protester said.

“If you would like to speak and make public comment, we’re making public comment over here,” junior Samantha Harrell said, inviting other visitors to join the meeting.

“Our next session, we’re going to look at student affordability,” Neil Theobold, senior vice president and chief financial officer, said.

In an ongoing discussion about student debt, the board discussed ways the University could provide students with information about loan repayment and debt management.

John Applegate, executive vice president for University regional affairs, planning and policy, said all regional campuses have been examining the issue of student debt.

“For your information, they’re discussing student affordability right now,” one protester said in response.

The trustees discussed ways to educate students about loan repayment. Protesters discussed how it is in students’ best interests to avoid taking out loans for education in the first place.

“Is the loan thing driven because of the attractiveness of the loan?” one trustee asked his colleagues.

Harrell turned around to address the board.

“We can answer a lot of the questions you’re asking right now,” she said. “It would make sense to ask us.”

The board continued the discussion amongst themselves, not addressing the protesters.

At about 2 p.m., the protesters moved to the center of the room, near the trustees’ sitting area.

“Just because they didn’t arrange for us to sit in a circle doesn’t mean we shouldn’t,” Harrell said.

The protesters sat on the floor as IU police officers moved toward the area.

The board meeting continued as protesters began to address student trustee Cora Griffin, a graduate student at the School of Environmental and Public Affairs at IU-Purdue University Indianapolis. One protester invited Griffin to join the assembly. Others expressed disappointment in her.

“I want to ask why the student representative didn’t represent us during the discussion about student debt,” a student said loudly.

The student group grew louder until a board member asked his fellow trustees if they would like to take a break.

The meeting finally paused as trustee members deliberated their next course of action.

Griffin later addressed students. She said she appreciated the student participation and said there were “many channels” for students to address the trustees with
grievances.

At about 2:45 p.m., the board took a break, during which Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Student Life and Learning Steve Veldkamp addressed the protesters.

He said Interim Provost Lauren Robel offered to meet with them to discuss their grievances. Veldkamp described Robel as a “key player for the Bloomington campus.”

One student thanked Veldkamp for speaking with the group but said he supported the protesters’ actions.

“I personally would like to throw out that there is more than one way to skin a cat,” the student said.

Shortly afterward, protestors reacted to rumors of police possibly making arrests. IU Police Department Chief Keith Cash said as long as activists were not overly disruptive, they would not make any arrests. He also said that because most of the protesters were students, any consequences would be handled through University judicial review.

The Board of Trustees meeting reconvened at about 3:20 p.m., and students began chanting and listing demands, which included affordable tuition, reduced funding for police force on campus and public comment.

The chanting caused the trustees to pause the meeting again.

The protesters stood up and, without police prompting, began exiting the room, shouting, “Whose school? Our school!”

When the last protester left, the trustees resumed their meeting. They discussed several proposed design plans needing approval, including renovation of the IU Kokomo Wellness and Fitness Center and the recent acquisition of more land on the IUPUI
campus.

Discussion began about a 30-year vision for work on the IUPUI campus, which included talk of heated people-movers to alleviate the lack of parking on campus.

Men’s basketball Coach Tom Crean also talked about the season, after which the Board of Trustees gave him a standing ovation.

A group of students from the Hudson and Holland Scholars Program also attended the meeting, hoping to speak with a trustee about the budget cut the mentorship and scholarship program has experienced.

Titilayo Rasaki, a junior who has been a Hudson and Holland Scholar since her freshman year, said the group had met with Edwin Marshall, vice president of Diversity, Equity and Multicultural Affairs, to express their concerns.

When the situation did not improve, they sent a letter to IU President Michael McRobbie, requesting to meet. McRobbie declined, and the group decided to attend the Board of Trustees meeting Thursday with hopes of speaking with a trustee during the break, Rasaki said.

Rasaki said the Hudson and Holland students focused on being respectful during the meeting, and for them, attending the meeting was a way to show administration they care about the University.

“At the end of the day, Hudson and Holland wants to show appreciation for the University and give back,” she said.

The Hudson and Holland representatives did not get to speak with anyone at the Board of Trustees meeting, and Rasaki said she found the protest frustrating.

“It was very disrespectful because at the end of the day, trustees are trying to run the University, and if you’re being disruptive, that’s not helping anyone,” Rasaki said.

Harrell said she felt the protest was extremely productive, adding it attracted a diverse group of students. She said she believed the method of protest was warranted, despite University officials’ urging activists to voice concerns in a different manner.
 
“Other ways aren’t as effective,” she said. “When it gets to a certain point, we have to utilize other forms of communication.”

After the meeting, Associate Vice President of University Communications Mark Land said that while the University respects the right of students to speak their minds and protest, there is a process to going about it.

“Interrupting the trustees’ meeting isn’t exactly that process,” he said, adding that Coal Free IU had organized an “orderly, quiet protest” earlier in the day.

Land said University officials weren’t surprised by the crowd after seeing flyers circulating earlier in the week. He said he hopes student protesters will take advantage of the opportunities to speak with Griffin and Robel.

“At the end of the day, we were able to accomplish what we set out to do,” Land said of the trustee meeting. “We tried very hard to be very respectful of their right to do what they felt like they needed to do.”