SG letter to AU community
As most of you may already know, last Wednesday evening Alex Manzanares submitted his resignation as secretary of the Student Government to President Joe Vidulich and Speaker Caitlin Hodgkins. The Student Government regrets this situation.
It is sad that he has done so in the manner he chose. Alex is a good person who has done a lot of good for the Student Government and American University. However, over the course of the last few weeks, members of the Student Government have become worried about his abilities to do the job he was elected to do. The Senate questioned him extensively on Sunday, Sept. 2, about the work he did over the summer. His answers proved incomplete, incorrect or otherwise misleading, bringing further questions and, ultimately, Alex's resignation.
As ever, we are focused on providing quality programs and services and advocating on the behalf of the undergraduate student body. Alex's departure marks an opportunity for the Student Government to renew its commitment to the undergraduate students of American University. During the course of the summer, the entire executive cabinet worked diligently to improve the campus for all students.
The Office of the President worked with Housing and Dining to expand EagleBuck$ options off campus and helped promote campus safety through encouraging students to sign up for the AlertDC system.
The vice president and his cabinet have already begun rolling out amazing programming for the campus, including Night on the Red Line and the upcoming Artemas Ward Week.
Student Government has already begun the process of searching for a new secretary who can provide the level of service students at AU deserve. Cait Douglas has been appointed to serve as acting Student Government secretary effective immediately. Cait Douglas knows her way around the SG, serving as the SG beat reporter for The Eagle, a member of former Secretary Carrie Johnson's communication team and as this year's chief of staff.
Student Advocacy Director Rick Edwards will coordinate the search for a new permanent Student Government secretary. By Monday, Rick will post an application on the SG's Web site. Rick will oversee interviews that will involve David Teslicko, representing the executives; Nasreen Qureshi, Seth Cutter and Vanessa Mueller, representing the cabinet; and two appointments from the speaker that will represent the senate.
These individuals will review material presented by the candidates, interview them and make a recommendation to Joe Vidulich no later than before the close of business on Sept. 21. After such time, Joe will interview the candidates and review the material himself. With the expectation of having a nominee, presented to the senate by Sunday, Sept. 30. If you are interested in the position and making a difference on our campus, please feel free to e-mail rick.edwards@ausg.org.
We look forward to continue working to better campus life for all students. If you have any questions about the work being done by the Student Government or would like to know how to get involved, please visit our Web site, www.ausg.org, and do not hesitate to contact us.
Joe, Jeff, David and the rest of your Student Government
Free speech and hypocrisy
The Eagle wrote a story on Thursday, Sept. 6, about the students who got unruly in protesting the appearance of Karl Rove on campus several months ago. This brought to mind two other events that I have been following as part of my research for my next book, which deals with Muslim apostates and reformers.
The first involved an appearance by Dr. Daniel Pipes, a strong supporter of Israel, on Jan. 20, 2004. He talked about the threat of radical Islamists to the traditional functions of Western universities and of the need to be supportive of Islamic dissenters. Pipes was met by coordinated disruptive behavior by dozens of students. The lead coordinator turned out to be Matt Bowles, an ACLU official who is openly quite critical of Israeli policies. Thus, here we have an ACLU official functioning as part of a scheme to deny a supporter of Islamic dissenters his First Amendment right to speak. At the end of the day, to the credit of AU, the scheme failed, but it is disheartening that it was even tried on our open campus. However, no penalties were imposed on Bowles or the students who took part in the scheme, either by ACLU or AU leaders.
The second involved Prince Turki Al-Faisal, the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States, who gave a speech at the university almost exactly three years later on Jan. 19, 2007. The ambassador explained the peaceful nature of the Islamic religion and the generous and tolerant nature of Saudi society. His talk was met not with disruptive behavior but with great respect. It would appear that not one student raised a challenging question, not even when the prince called for "a halt to the insults hurled at our prophet and our religion by religious spokesmen in your country." As far as I can tell, no student in the audience or on the staff of The Eagle felt moved to ask if the ambassador was demanding that we show deference to his country and his religion when Saudi Arabia prohibits any religious expression by Christians, Jews, Hindus or indeed by those Muslims who do not follow the strict Wahaabi version of Islam supported and propagated by the prince's family and colleagues.
Were these three events random and insignificant, or are they indicators of deep trouble within the heads and hearts of a large number of university students and faculty? I would be glad to hear student views on this troubling matter.
Arnold Trebach professor emeritus, School of Public Affairs
