Response to SGA Letter on Closing Westminster Campus

The Lawrenceville and Westminster Chapters of the Rider Student Union and the Student Chapter of the Coalition to Save Westminster Choir College in Princeton are committed to transparency, and the sharing of all information regarding the proposed closing of the Westminster Choir College Princeton campus and the affects it has on the students as well as the school as a whole. We find the actions and the recent email response by the Westminster’s SGA to be inappropriate and unprofessional in the current situation. They made no moves to engage The Coalition to Save Westminster in Princeton about any possible stances on the subject, sent no emails and made no connection to keep us in the loop with administration. Rather they went onward and went along with administration in promoting this "study" of closing Westminster.  Also we are unaware of any attempt by the SGA to seek guidance from the Rider AAUP in its assessment of the current situation.

There has been no vocal opposition to this move by SGA. Why do they fall silent and release an email vaguely justifying the move with Dell 'Omo thinking about it?  As of right now,  the SGA has been vocally silent, offering no opposition to this move which leads us at the Coalition to suspect they are for the closing. When will they go against administration and realize what their silence has already done?

There has also been no written or vocal statement by Dell 'Omo himself, instead he speaks through the SGA or through a third party, The Coalition would like for Dell 'Omo to address Westminster with his concerns, instead of saying through an SGA email that you are thinking about our concerns. We have no  way of knowing if Dell 'Omo will share his concerns about the closing with the team conducting the survey. We also have no idea in what way he will address his issues to the Westminster student body as well as faculty. We would like full transparency when it comes to the delivery of his statement. We would also like to feel secured in his statement, because we as the Coalition understand that written word and also spoken word is not always a promise.

We would also like access to the concerns posed by SGA to Dell 'Omo and Dean Shaftel.  Were the SGA's concerns in writing? We would like access to all current information or stances that SGA or Dell 'Omo have. We would also like information as to the concerns posed by SGA, if they were on an individual basis or if they were posed as a group. This can change the view points and can lead to unity in the schools concerns. We would also like to pinpoint the opposing views that SGA had, if any, because they have failed to mention any actual opposition to the move.  The SGA needs to represent the students by opposing the move and not the administration – by soft selling it – as it is currently doing.

SGA continues to show its agreement to the move, by posing positive aspects of the move and that no position will be posed until the study is done. We would like to know how they are so certain that these are benefits to the point that they have put them into a school wide email. We would like strong evidence available to everyone that they do not have any more information than the students. We would also like for administration to show us any or all communications with SGA and proof to the student body that they have not been given any information regarding so called benefits to the closing of Westminster. Are they aware of the costs of building state of the art music facilities for more than 300 musicians ranging from singers to organists? Are they aware of the numbers and the budget they will have to have? Were the savings that SGA mentioned tallied up against the costly construction that would have to be funded? SGA as well as Dell 'Omo have said the process will take several years, but have failed to mention pinpoint times and an accurate timeline of the shut down and movement of Westminster. Did Dell Omo state that 2017-2018 year will not be affected?  What about 2018-19?  If he has made no such commitment it is disingenuous for the SGA to imply as much.

If they have made a position such as this, it is correct to assume they have thought of a clear timeline of events as well. They also failed to mention in what way Westminster will function as a college as the sale of our land is being negotiated. Will we continue to be a functioning college or will Westminster begin our transition as soon as a land sale deal  has been made? Will the  sale of Westminster be more important than the functioning of our college, and will we begin to see our college turn into a bidding ground for buyers and sellers? Why has SGA and Dell 'Omo failed to portray a clear timeline and dates for such a move? SGA's email also mentioned staying positive and respectful. They failed to mention that being quiet and not opposing the move is not respectful, it is passive. We as the Coalition will not be passive when Dell 'Omo wants to move our college 

SGA has made clear in their response that being positive means to not go against the move, and that is wrong. You can be positive about opposing a bad plan. We as the students of Westminster must show Dell 'Omo that his plan has too many holes and we are unified in opposition. It is the role of SGA to talk for the students, not  administration. It is not the role of SGA to undermine those who are speaking up and fighting for the college they love. Boost up your love for Westminster; do not undermine those who choose to speak up.  The reference by SGA to unnamed individuals that are addressing the issue as “uninformed” is exactly the kind of negativity that the SGA is supposedly telling us to avoid.  It is a smear of the opposition and thus the student body.

SGA also mentions to stay well informed and to not believe everything we read. The whole email is strands of statements without any actual facts or proof to back up any claims you are trying to make. SGA is talking on behalf of administration. We have seen even less proof of dire financial information, and the administration has not released specific data supporting their financial analysis and the need to shutter Westminster Choir College Princeton Campus. They have jumped to the nuclear option of shuttering our beloved Princeton campus without showing us any other options with complete openness and honest facts.

In the SGA’s list of options that students can take, nowhere does it say to oppose the move, or make your voice known that you are vocally against the move.  SGA has routinely throughout this email portrayed resistance to opposing the move, and by listing what students should do and failing to include raising your voice and opposing the move, you have undermined what it means to be a Westminster student. SGA has shown us with this small list that they are much more inclined to have us continue the path of  ignorance and not grab the bull by the horns. SGA needs to stop telling our students be subdued in the face of a grave mistake.

SGA's job is to speak for the students of Westminster. They along with all the other students and faculty know of the opposition supported by the students and failed to show and give support to those who speak against the move. Rather, they offer soft passive options, saying why Westminster is great and lovely, instead of hitting home with actual changes. SGA needs to start representing the school and all of its students, and has to stop delivering to the school a soft sell of the move, and the idea that it is ok if we just think positive. Speak up and make noise, and do not feel as though SGA is the voice of the people when they cannot even break away from administration in the face of this administration imposed crisis for our beloved college and campus.

SGA is hosting a forum, and has failed to present any clear information on who the presenters will be. Will AAUP be invited to present?  Alumni?  Save Westminster Coalition?  Rider Students Union Westminster representatives?   Or will it be another administration platform to promote its Study / Move process?  They have continuously failed to bring to the table any facts or information on all of the claims they have made, and they wrap up with another vague statement.

SGA, you need to start being the voice of the students, and not the talking head of administration. If you cannot do this, then you are not the voice of Westminster, we are. Westminster is here to stay, and I will not be quiet when it comes to the closing of the place that has touched lives across land and time.

We call upon the SGA to convene immediately and to pass a resolution that:
* opposes the move unconditionally
* vows to do everything in its power to halt the move
* commits to communicate to everyone its commitment to use its powers to stop the move directly to President Dell Omo and the Board of Trustees.
* Allocates no less than $10,000 of student fees to the student efforts to block the move.

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,

Because their words had forked no lightning they

Do not go gentle into that good night.

-Dylan Thomas