TO THE EDITOR:
The Daily Tar Heel reported Friday that President Ross described the interruptions at last week’s Board of Governors’ meeting as “uncomfortable and … something we don’t like.”
Speaking up during the Board’s meeting was undoubtedly also uncomfortable for the students and staff who courageously voiced their concerns about the BOG’s plan to remove 22,000 UNC-system employees from the protections of the State Personnel Act.
Unless the board makes time for members of the university community to speak up during their meetings — or familiarize themselves with the issues facing students, faculty and staff throughout the UNC system — Ross ought to reckon with further disruptions at board meetings.
Members of the BOG recently traveled to China in order to learn firsthand about UNC’s connections with people and institutions halfway around the world.
Board members ought to be just as eager to understand the issues we face right here in North Carolina. To do so, they might consider visiting classes and shadowing housekeepers.
Without such firsthand knowledge, it seems highly unlikely the BOG will really understand the issues that those of us who work, learn and teach at UNC face each day. And how can the BOG run the UNC system without really understanding these issues?
If Ross and the board don’t want to be interrupted during their next meeting, they must take the initiative and bring members of the UNC community into their decision-making process.
Steve Milder
History graduate student
