2008 Woodie Awards
Vote Absentee
Statement on the Resignation of Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Michael
Representatives of the Student Government Association
Issue date: 1/28/08 Section: Letters to the Editor
We thank Michael Gargano for his resignation as Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs. More importantly, we thank you- the current student body, and especially those who participated in the recent general student strike-for issuing the final blow to his career at UMass Amherst.
Since Gargano's arrival in 2003, Student Affairs has attempted to…
1. Gentrify our campus by:
- Cutting staffing and operating budgets for the Everywoman's Center, the Stonewall Center, and the ALANA support programs by approximately 50%
- Allowing the University' outreach efforts to disintegrate: since 2003, the campus has lost all of its major grant-funded outreach programs, including Talent Search and the Division of Outreach
- Supporting a group of students who participated in a drunken photo shoot in the Student Union where they used KKK imagery to mock ALANA students. Gargano worked with this same group of students to eventually eliminate the Office of ALANA Affairs.
2. Militarize our campus by:
- Encouraging random, unsolicited police patrols in dormitory hallways
- Eliminating students' right to appeal "Level One" offenses as defined by the Code of Student Conduct (CSC), hence limiting students' right to due process, as guaranteed by the US Constitution
- Spending thousands of dollars of student money installing surveillance cameras, then using shady footage from these cameras to suspend students "participating" in the recent riots, hence fueling multiple lawsuits against the University.
- Toughened the "picketing code" (our homegrown variety of Bush's "Patriot Act"), which threatens to punish students by expulsion for participation in campus demonstrations and free speech activities
3. Curtail student decision-making power and student-initiated activities by:
- Allowing student organizations to suffer from increasingly strict policies, decreased access to student space, and increased costs to use student space and equipment
Since Gargano's arrival in 2003, Student Affairs has attempted to…
1. Gentrify our campus by:
- Cutting staffing and operating budgets for the Everywoman's Center, the Stonewall Center, and the ALANA support programs by approximately 50%
- Allowing the University' outreach efforts to disintegrate: since 2003, the campus has lost all of its major grant-funded outreach programs, including Talent Search and the Division of Outreach
- Supporting a group of students who participated in a drunken photo shoot in the Student Union where they used KKK imagery to mock ALANA students. Gargano worked with this same group of students to eventually eliminate the Office of ALANA Affairs.
2. Militarize our campus by:
- Encouraging random, unsolicited police patrols in dormitory hallways
- Eliminating students' right to appeal "Level One" offenses as defined by the Code of Student Conduct (CSC), hence limiting students' right to due process, as guaranteed by the US Constitution
- Spending thousands of dollars of student money installing surveillance cameras, then using shady footage from these cameras to suspend students "participating" in the recent riots, hence fueling multiple lawsuits against the University.
- Toughened the "picketing code" (our homegrown variety of Bush's "Patriot Act"), which threatens to punish students by expulsion for participation in campus demonstrations and free speech activities
3. Curtail student decision-making power and student-initiated activities by:
- Allowing student organizations to suffer from increasingly strict policies, decreased access to student space, and increased costs to use student space and equipment
Viewing Comments 1 - 9 of 9
peaches1
posted 1/29/08 @ 9:00 AM EST
I can't wait for these students to grow older and find out what they think now is not how life really works.
Once they have turned over their freedom to the Nanny State; let's see how not really having a voice and not being able to express their opinion is going to go down. (Continued…)
Carlos
posted 2/01/08 @ 6:14 PM EST
Wow, talk about total lack of journalistic responsibility. Not only are a majority of these claims about Gargano gross distortions, a number of them are just out right lies. (Continued…)
Nancy
posted 2/05/08 @ 1:57 PM EST
The students at UMass who condone this type of journalism in regards to Mike Gargano are at a loss of life in the real world. The violence at UMass is at an alltime high. (Continued…)
student
posted 2/06/08 @ 8:43 PM EST
dangerous? violent? do you even go here?
there is not one single second when i'm on campus or in my dorm room where i feel threatened or feel unsafe in any way. (Continued…)
Emma
posted 2/06/08 @ 10:32 PM EST
I would much rather have Gargano back, and the GSS gone.
Bill
posted 2/06/08 @ 10:38 PM EST
I have read with interest the comments of the represntatives of the Student Government regarding the departure of Vice Chancellor Gargano. I was especially amused by the comment regarding the "militarization" of the campus. (Continued…)
Steve
posted 2/07/08 @ 2:41 AM EST
Dangerous campus? Try going to a university located in a major city, then come back and tell me you honestly feel UMass Amherst is as unsafe as you are trying to make it seem. (Continued…)
Boris
posted 2/07/08 @ 1:02 PM EST
Is the Collegian really publishing this rubbish? What can possibly be gained by this? This paper needs to be shut down as soon as possible - it is an embarrassment to the University. (Continued…)
S.P. Sullivan
posted 2/07/08 @ 2:46 PM EST
EDITOR'S NOTE:
This is not "journalism," as some reader comments have suggested. It is a statement made by the SGA posted, unadorned, as a supplement to the news story on his departure. (Continued…)
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