2008 Woodie Awards
Protest as affirmation of SMU's future
William K. McElvaney
Issue date: 2/22/07 Section: Opinion
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What are the values for SMU's future we protestors of the Bush library/policy institute seek to affirm?
Protest, from the Latin root protestari, is to affirm, to testify. In other words what are we for as we challenge the Bush complex? What do we seek to preserve or restore for SMU's future?
Transparency: When people who are affected by institutional decisions are not offered the right to influence those decisions, the guaranteed result is resentment and resistance. In more than 50 years of organizational experience, both religious and secular, I have never seen an exception. This is not to say that all matters should be transparent. For example, access to various personnel decisions and records is forbidden by privacy laws as well as by common sense. Furthermore, the right to influence decisions does not necessarily confer the right to make those decisions. But a momentous decision of long-term implications absolutely demands invitation of all affected parties to the dialogue table at the earliest opportunity.
Virtual silence and secrecy in SMU's bid for the Bush legacy have been justified by SMU's leadership as a requirement of competition. But it is doubtful Baylor lost their bid, if indeed that proves to be the case, because they held open forums inviting discussion. If SMU becomes the host of the Bush complex, it will be due mainly to long-standing connections between SMU trustees and the Bush family. SMU's silence did prevent opposition and serious campus discussion until November 2006. Predictably the hesitancy by legitimate authority to act with greater collegiality has raised fear among some faculty about the practice of dissent without repercussion. Administrative lack of openness has communicated disrespect for the university's most valuable on-campus assets, namely, faculty, staff and students.
Protest seeks to affirm the university's motto for the whole campus: "You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free." Is it asking too much for SMU trustees to live up to the university's motto?
Protest, from the Latin root protestari, is to affirm, to testify. In other words what are we for as we challenge the Bush complex? What do we seek to preserve or restore for SMU's future?
Transparency: When people who are affected by institutional decisions are not offered the right to influence those decisions, the guaranteed result is resentment and resistance. In more than 50 years of organizational experience, both religious and secular, I have never seen an exception. This is not to say that all matters should be transparent. For example, access to various personnel decisions and records is forbidden by privacy laws as well as by common sense. Furthermore, the right to influence decisions does not necessarily confer the right to make those decisions. But a momentous decision of long-term implications absolutely demands invitation of all affected parties to the dialogue table at the earliest opportunity.
Virtual silence and secrecy in SMU's bid for the Bush legacy have been justified by SMU's leadership as a requirement of competition. But it is doubtful Baylor lost their bid, if indeed that proves to be the case, because they held open forums inviting discussion. If SMU becomes the host of the Bush complex, it will be due mainly to long-standing connections between SMU trustees and the Bush family. SMU's silence did prevent opposition and serious campus discussion until November 2006. Predictably the hesitancy by legitimate authority to act with greater collegiality has raised fear among some faculty about the practice of dissent without repercussion. Administrative lack of openness has communicated disrespect for the university's most valuable on-campus assets, namely, faculty, staff and students.
Protest seeks to affirm the university's motto for the whole campus: "You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free." Is it asking too much for SMU trustees to live up to the university's motto?
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