Letter to the Editor | VSA decision neglects goals, targets conservatives

On Sunday, Oct. 23, the Vassar Student Association (VSA) voted to de-authorize the Moderate, Independent and Conservative Alliance of Vassar College (MICA). The points cited in the resolution included the misled statements that we dragged our feet while planning the Forum (this Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Villard Room) and we failed to cooperate with the “concerned students” on the details of the Forum. Both of these complaints were coupled with a desire to “send a message” to the outside world that the VSA disapproves of overthrow.com and the racism of Bill White, the site’s owner. This disgusting neo-Nazi website wrote an article based on the article printed on insidehighered.com using some of the most inflammatory and profoundly ignorant claims I, or anyone else I have talked to, have ever read.

To the first two points, that we dragged our feet and didn’t cooperate with the concerned students, I would like to point out that the original VSA resolution stated that we should be in consultation with Edward Pittman, Dean of Campus Life. We contacted Ed Pittman two days after the meeting, who decided that a five-on-five dialogue with the other party was necessary before the actual Forum. After consulting with the concerned students, a date was set for this dialogue for the Tuesday two weeks before October break. As far as talking about the underlying issues, the conference was a success, but because time ran short for actual planning of the event, we all agreed that we should have another meeting the following Tuesday. To this end, we also decided unanimously that two students from MICA and two students from the group of concerned students would go to the next VSA meeting and ask for an extension on the October break Forum deadline. Twenty-four hours before the VSA meeting, we received an e-mail from the two students representing the concerned students saying, with no other explanation, that they could no longer support asking for the extension. By not cooperating and leaving MICA to look unprepared in front of the VSA, the concerned students were outright obstructionist.

The target was clear in all of our eyes. The VSA and the concerned students are against racism, but with the same fervor, MICA is against racism as well. If The Imperialist printing “racism” was the real target here, would it be necessary to make us responsible for a third party whack-job website? Shouldn’t the VSA issue a statement against overthrow.com instead of punishing MICA? The author of that article is the one referring to African Americans in a consistently derogatory manner. I would think that seeing true racism at work, racism motivated by hate, the concerned students and the VSA would see that an editorial error and oversight on our parts is not racism. Instead, the VSA voted contrary to what Rick Rodems said at the original meeting, that “to censure an organization is to put them on the track for de-authorization and de-recognition and I believe this would be a very dangerous road to travel down.” Instead, the Council disregarded the censure path and quieted the only conservative group on campus. If there ever was true disenfranchisement and marginalization on this campus, it occurred when the VSA voted to de-authorize MICA.

To paraphrase Matt Ambrose at Sunday’s meeting: you can believe the worst that has been said about us by others, or you can give your fellow students the benefit of the doubt and listen to what we have to say. All we can tell you is what we know: we do not have hate in our hearts.

—Sean Boley ’08, MICA Secretary