Last week’s Senate meeting sparked tensions regarding visiting speakers’ influence on campus as two candidates, David Solovy ‘20 and Liam Painter ‘23, spoke in front of SGA members about their willingness to serve in Speakers’ Bureau. Both candidates were not elected, election commissioner Olivia Rosenblum ’22 confirmed to The Skidmore News.
The open Senate meeting, which was unusually well-attended, included a dozen of members of the student body who shared their concerns and experiences regarding past speakers with members of the Student Government Association (SGA). Students also discussed the function of Speakers' Bureau as a committee under SGA -- one that is meant to represent the diversity of the student body and illuminate relevant issues.
During Senate’s “New Business,” or new items on the SGA agenda for the week, Solovy and Painter answered questions regarding their credibility to serve in Speakers’ Bureau and the main ideas behind their platforms.
Speakers’ Bureau, which falls under SGA’s umbrella, provides guidance to student clubs and organizations in the planning and publicizing of lectures, while also bringing a keynote speaker each semester. Last Spring’s keynote speaker was acclaimed author, professor, editor, and commentator, Roxane Gay.
According to SGA’s website page, Speakers’ Bureau “supports interesting, educational, diverse, and thoughtful speakers of all kinds as proposed by other student groups.” The group plays a key role in shaping the conversation on campus regarding recent events.
However, Delaney Russell ’19, former member of Speakers’ Bureau, mentioned in a brief comment to The Skidmore News that there has been a shift in political ideology of the Speakers’ Bureau, specifically regarding identity politics over the past academic year.
Solovy’s candidacy renewed discussion on a conservative speaker he and the College Republicans club hosted last semester. Christina Hoff Sommers, American Enterprise Institute scholar and author of “The War Against Boys,” gave an on-campus talk entitled “What Happened to Academia?”, which was supposed to focus on the politics of the academia and research.
Sommers discussed sexual assault and gender-based misconduct on college campuses, claiming that the number of women sexually assaulted in college is closer to one out of 50. In her opinion, people’s definition of sexual assault is exaggerated to include a lot of activities that should not be considered rape or sexual assault.
Abby Ciccarone ’22, Executive Vice President for Financial Affairs, mentioned that there was a general lack of communication prior to and after the event. Ciccarone reiterated that “free speech comes with consequences” that should not have been disregarded.
Solovy responded with firm allegiance to freedom of speech rights and does not regret organizing the event.
"I feel like I would be doing a disservice to the Constitution that the US upholds and the Constitution of the College not to say, ‘even if this hurts someone, that is something we need to be academic,’” he said.
He also mentioned checking for any reports or incidents made after the event, to which he claimed there were none. Ciccarone responded that any reports (including counseling center visits) would be confidential and, therefore, unavailable for the public eye.
The poster used to advertise — also entitled “What Happened to Academia?” — was allegedly considered misleading by several senate members in comparison to what Sommers discussed. Solovy mentioned that Sommers arrived late due to a travel delay, and he was not able to communicate directly about the content of her talk prior to the time of lecture.
“I still think she brought a very important conversation, but again I’m a student, it’s a learning experience, I’m not a professional,” he said.
Junior Class President Raymi Ramirez said that with the presidential election coming up, she is particularly wary of the influence of political speakers brought to campus. She asked Painter and Solovy what actions will be taken in the future to promote criticality of speakers, to which Solovy responded that he will reach out to LGBT clubs and communities of color on campus to also give their perspectives a platform.
Ramirez mentioned to The Skidmore News that the senate meeting and the issues it addressed was one of the reasons she ran for SGA last year, “I knew I could make an impact on campus,” she reiterated.
In a follow-up comment to Skidmore News, Solovy conveyed disappointment that he won’t have the opportunity to help the Speakers’ Bureau “provide both safe and brave spaces to help Skidmore be a place of growth and Creative Thought.”
In light of the elections, Nigel Dawson, Chair of Speakers’ Bureau, said in a statement to Skidmore News that while he is a close friend of the former candidate, he doesn’t necessarily agree with all the action he took last year. “I entirely uphold and maintain SGA's position on ultimately deciding on declining his entry onto Speakers’ Bureau,” he said.
SGA as a student organization does not have formal guidelines or resolutions addressing political affiliations; however, it claims to not discriminate on candidates based on differing political ideology.
Executive Vice President Sophia Paulino Adames ‘22 said in a follow-up comment that “a lot of questions completely irrelevant to political points of view were asked.” She continued by saying that “Being on Speakers’ Bureau is super important because you have to represent the students.”
Other candidates for Speakers’ Bureau and the Sustainability Commission (SuCo) spoke in front of SGA and members of the student body about their platforms on Tuesday, Sept. 24.