By Raven TysonAssistant City Editor
The Associated Students Council faced another reaction to itsrecent resolution of no confidence in Provost Nancy Marlin last week.This time it came from the university president.
President Stephen Weber addressed questions from the council atits weekly meeting on the way he handled the council’s action.
On Feb. 27, A.S. nearly unanimously passed a vote of no confidencein Marlin, saying she makes decisions without including students andhas failed to diversify faculty. Afterward, Weber has sent out ane-mail to all faculty and staff condemning A.S. for their decisionand the University Senate counteracted by passing a resolution ofsupport in Marlin.
Councilmember Dayton Krigbaum asked Weber about the e-mail he sentwhere he called A.S.’s decision “ill-informed and mean-spirited.”
Weber said the council should have tried to address their issuesfirst before condemning Marlin. He said the action was inappropriateand many of the facts A.S. cited were misinformed.
The day A.S. passed the vote of no confidence, Weber visited thecouncil to speak about the fee referendum, but he left before thecouncil discussed the resolution. Councilmember Casey Hansen askedWeber why he chose to “hide behind an e-mail” instead of staying atthe council meeting to voice his opinion.
Weber said there were specific “ground rules” for his first visitto A.S. He was there to discuss the fees and nothing else.
Hansen responded by asking Weber to “be flexible.” He said itseemed weird to him that Weber felt so strongly that the provost was”attacked,” but chose to respond via e-mail.
Weber reiterated that he was at that meeting to discuss the fees.
“I’m sure there were lots of issues the council would have wantedto bring up, but we all followed the rule,” Weber said.
Councilmember Adelle Gomelsky, who authored the resolution, saidshe thought it was ironic that the feedback she received from theaction was on a character attack on Marlin, but at no point did thegroup attack Marlin’s character or personality.
She said A.S. listed issues that still have not been addressed byher or the University Senate.
Weber’s e-mail, she said, was a “strong attack on A.S.”
Weber called the resolution a “real tragedy” that didn’t have tohappen. He said there were lots of ways the problem could have beenfixed before resorting to the resolution. Weber said the resolutionwas “tragic” for A.S., as well as the university and administration.
Councilmember Marivic Tolentino asked Weber if he felt the studentvoice was respected on campus.
Weber said he couldn’t answer that because it would require a hugegeneralization. He said some administrators and faculty probablyrespect students more than others, but it could also be based on theissue being addressed.
Vice President of External Affairs Priscilla Ocen asked Weber ifhe could or would make additional time to speak with students in aless formal way.
Weber said the primary way he interacts with students is viae-mail. He said students constantly e-mail him with questions and hethen directs them to the appropriate avenue. Weber said if a studenthad an issue only he could answer, then he would be open to that, butit would impossible to do all that and complete the job he was hiredto do.
Weber said there are places he should and should not be seen oncampus. He said the president should go to an A.S. meeting, but itdoesn’t make sense for him “to drink a beer at Monty’s Pub.”
