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 The
Persecution of Student Association President Justin Holmes Continues
by
Rachel Lagodka
I am terribly concerned about the SUNY New Paltz Administration's flagrant abuse
of their authority to undermine the student government. I am only asking tenured
professors to help with this case, but I am urging the untenured folks to
support the cause by reaffirming the right of the students to hold their own
elections without interference from the administration. Since their efforts to
influence the election failed in removing Justin Holmes from the position of SA
president, the administration has been on a mission to expel him from school so
that he cannot take office in the fall. If they succeed and the faculty has done
nothing to support him then shame on you.
Two days after that faculty meeting where everyone left
thinking that exposing the administration’s unfair targeting of Justin Holmes in
front of the faculty would be enough to deter them from further persecution;
they filed two more spurious injunctions against Justin Holmes.
Of course it doesn't help that Justin Holmes can be an
agitator and an irritator. Most student activists are not poster children for
the Hawks website. That goes with the territory of challenging authority. But
Justin Holmes is a brilliant, creative, original student trying to figure out
his place in the world. He is sometimes rude and disrespectful, but all people
with the courage to defy authority are accused of that. Nobody calls Jesus rude
for tipping over the tables of the money-changers in the temple. OK I’m not
trying to compare Justin to Jesus, but surely you know what I mean. A conscience
compels us to do something about this before the wheels of bureaucracy grind him
up. It shouldn’t matter whether or not you like him or whether or not you agree
with Justin Holmes’ political opinions. The fact is that he was duly elected by
the student body to serve as president and has done nothing to warrant being
expelled from school.
Having a petition signed by the chairs of the department
would go a long way toward preventing the administration from expelling Justin
Holmes on trumped up charges.
Please do something before it is too late. You have the
chance to prevent a great wrong. They have already fired me, but I am not going
anywhere. I will always be here to ask you where you were.
Love & Peace
Rachel Lagodka
You can read and see more about the situation here:
http://www.wikipaltz.com/wiki/Controversy1
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