RUSA Report October 24: Voting support funded, political words exchanged at meeting
After passing legislation to fund student voting support and set member office hour requirements, Thursday’s RUSA meeting featured charged political exchanges from students and assembly members during public comment.
During the legislation portion, the assembly voted to allocate funds toward election day shuttles to help students vote. According to Kayla Ferrante, the bill’s sponsor, such an allocation was made in most previous years in preparation for Election Day.
Ferrante noted that one designated polling place, Parsons Elementary School, is located over two miles from campus, which limits accessibility for students without cars. The bill allocated $850 to the program and passed unanimously.
RUSA also passed a bill setting office hour requirements for assembly members. The bill requires one hour per month for all assembly members, with allowances for non-traditional office hours, such as volunteering for assembly programs, approved by RUSA Chief of Staff Abigail Fulton.
During public comment, several assembly members and organization representatives gave atypically political statements, particularly regarding Assistant Professor Mark Bray in the Department of History. Bray has become the center of political controversies after he received death threats for his publications on anti-fascist ideologies.
Megyn Doyle and Ava Kwan, representatives of the Rutgers chapter of conservative group Turning Point USA, pressed RUSA leadership on why they passed a resolution showing support for Bray, who Doyle claimed supports political violence in his publications. RUSA President Christopher Godoy corrected Doyle, saying RUSA had not passed any such resolution and that she may be confusing a resolution by the University Senate. Godoy asked the entire assembly to fact-check their statements before they are made to avoid misinformation.
Doyle and Kwan also asked RUSA leaders if they supported Bray’s comments and how RUSA intended to protect conservative students, including students like Doyle and Kwan, who said they were doxxed for their activism.
Godoy responded that RUSA acts in the best interest of academic freedom and that he has full faith in the university’s ability to defend the speech of its students and faculty. Parliamentarian Vinya Lingamnenni reminded Doyle and Kwan that the public sector portion is intended for statements, not discussions, and asked that they direct questions to RUSA leaders privately.
Other public comments followed similar political themes. Two students of Bray individually discussed the instructor’s politics, one claiming he supports free speech and the other claiming he does not.
Zuhayr Thange, RUSA’s Sexual Violence and Education Chair, objected to claims in a previous meeting that the country of Israel is not committing a genocide against the people of Palestine, calling anyone who says otherwise “unintelligent.” Doyle returned to the mic to call Thange’s comments “derogatory” and “disgusting,” and asked him to apologize.
After leaving the mic, Doyle tried to provoke Thange directly when he did not respond to her comments. RUSA leaders reminded Doyle and Kwan of the appropriate uses of public comment time and meeting conduct several times throughout their multiple public comments.
During leadership updates, Godoy noted that he met with University Chancellor Francine Conway to discuss her task force aimed at addressing the controversies surrounding Bray and other concerns related to academic freedom. Conway recently announced the task force in a statement to the University last week, where she condemned political doxxing against faculty and students.
Internal Affairs Chair Adam Halperin noted the Internal Affairs Committee is looking to fill five vacant seats, with even more potential seats opening based on the results of the ongoing impeachment proceedings.
Full minutes of the October 23 RUSA meeting can be found here.
Report by WRSU RUSA Correspondent, Andrew Hawthorne.