The Cave Newspaper
BY THE CAVE HILL GUILD OF STUDENTS Volume 2 Issue 4 Saturday, March 26th 2022
“We all have moments where we would like to speak on a certain topic but never had a designated medium to share our opinions publicly. This column will be your safe space to voice your opinions on matters affecting you here at Cave Hill.”
MONTHLY RELEASE
“This is not high school. We the students of the Cave Hill campus are perfectly capable of managing ourselves. If you are not in support of our efforts to have elections, nor acknowledge our ability to organize events, then we will take our business elsewhere and leave you out of the loop. It is simple as that!”
THIS MESSAGE IS FOR THE OFFICE OF STUDENT SERVICES.
— i am a [ch] blackbird
i will say it with my [ch]est
AUTONOMOUS ? FEATURED STORY
As of recent, the Guild Council has been facing serious backlash from a number of the campus’ administrative entities in relation to the hosting of Guild Elections. For one office in particular, whose role was initially that of an advisor to the council, they have somewhat turned into a disabling unit who has occasionally suppressed the council’s moves. On Friday March 18th, an email was sent to members of the council stating that all student activities are to cease immediately with no anticipated date for resumption. The finale of the Faculty of Science week of activities as well as the Swim Program were the first to be affected since the email was sent on a Friday afternoon. It is important to note that these interruptions are neither spontaneous nor being seen for the first time. Earlier this semester, the Guild of Students waited weeks while student names were supposedly being verified for an online petition, just to be notified in the end that the entire petition
had been dismissed as the signatures would not be accepted by the relevant office verifying them. Students took to social media to question what authority said office had to even get involved in guild politics. Many complained that the process was illegitimate and should not be evaluated by any other entity besides the Guild Council. Weeks after the dust had settled, the council was hit yet again by another bar, just the weekend before its intended general election. The council was informed that they did not have permission from the student body to send up their information to the relevant medium which would be used to conduct
the elections. Considering this was the same medium used a year ago in the last elections, the council questioned what had changed. It was then made clear that a newly enforced policy prevented the sharing of students’ personal information. All there was left to wonder was why the office waited last minute to inform them on the policy when elections were only days away. To clear the air with the student body, an emergency conference was then held by the council which led to even more chaos. During the conference, various personnel from the responsible entities showed up in efforts to deflect blame and even embarrass the council. The student body, then recognizing where the real issues lay, expressed empathy and gave their support. Is this what student governance has come to? Will the autonomy of the Guild Council ever be respected again going forward? Proceed to page 2 to learn how the OSS does NOT respect us.