The American University Student Government voted to express no confidence in University President Sylvia Burwell and called for her to resign effective immediately in a statement emailed to the student body Wednesday night.
The statement, signed by 15 senators and all newly sworn in members of the executive board, formally condemned the Jan. 25 ban on indoor protests, saying that it ignores the “will of the student body.” In this semester’s SG elections, nearly 69 percent of voting students voted in favor of a referendum to remove the indoor protest ban. On April 10 and 12, SG protested the ban at both a welcome event for President-Designate Jonathan Alger and New Eagle Day.
The email to students cited Burwell’s “series of decisions that have consistently undermined student advocacy and failed to transparently engage with student and faculty concerns.” Among those listed were a failure to release a survivor’s bill of rights by the administration’s January deadline and the rejection of an SG resolution calling on the University to divest from Israel.
“What I want to make abundantly clear is that this is a form of constructive criticism,” Senator-at-Large Kaden Ouimet, a freshman in the School of Public Affairs, told The Eagle. “We are charting a path forward for Jon Alger and saying ‘here are the steps you could take.’”
The email urged Alger to “work collaboratively with AUSG and the student body to reverse these concerning trends.” Alger will take over as University president on July 1 following Burwell’s departure.
A second statement signed by 13 SG senators and the same executive board members, expressed support for the ongoing encampment at George Washington University by students from multiple D.C.-area universities, including AU.
On April 25, the administration sent an email to the AU community that encampments on University premises are prohibited until further notice. The email also said that, in the event of a demonstration, any participants not affiliated with the University will be removed.
In the original email, SG said that it would explore using its funding from the mandatory Student Activity Fee to send supplies to students in the GW encampment, such as food, first aid and menstrual hygiene products. However, in an email sent on May 3, the SG Executive Board clarified that the fee could not be used for this purpose, as fees must be spent “on the general support and engagement of AU student programs and events.”
The original email also urged students to look out for summer updates, writing “Together, we can ensure that our university lives up to its ideals of true inclusivity and freedom of expression.”
Lydia LoPiccolo contributed reporting.
This article was edited by Walker Whalen, Tyler Davis and Abigail Turner. Copy editing done by Luna Jinks.
