#005: (No) Seat at the Table

After years of deliberations, student protests, and closed-door meetings, the Board of Trustees Rejected a proposal by Student Senate to add any student representation to the body, with Chair Chris Canavan, OC ’84, saying “A healthy board is one on which every trustee feels absolutely comfortable thinking out loud. Trustees are no less human than students: when we think out loud, we take note of who’s in the room, consciously or subconsciously. Most trustees, including those who might otherwise support the resolution, worry that some of us would think out loud less candidly if students were in the room. As chair, that’s unacceptable to me.” 

Student Senator Josh Koller and Oberlin Review News Editor Sydney Allen join The Weekly to discuss the future of student advocacy efforts in the wake of the setback and where students go from here. In the second half of our show, we tackle staffing issues in the Office of Disability Resources — the underlyin