1. Friday, July 22, 2016
Members of the Rutgers Community:
As representatives elected by students in our respective bodies at Rutgers University, we
strive to advocate on behalf of the students. On Wednesday afternoon, a staff member laid his hands
upon a student during a closed session of the Board of Governors in Winants Hall at Rutgers-New
Brunswick. This student attempted to read the resolution on a proposed tuition increase by accessing
one of the Board’s confidential binders. On this issue, we speak as students of the University
community, not as representatives for any organization or body.
We denounce the actions of the staff member who laid his hands upon a student. Physical
violence is never an appropriate response, and it has no place in an academic institution. Rutgers
University strives to be a diverse institution that, as a whole, champions the idea of respect for its
students. We must not only continue to promote this ideal, but also demonstrate it.
We denounce the actions of the student, who broke the rules by attempting to access
confidential materials without proper authorization. We are bound by rules here at Rutgers, rules that
we agree to by being part of the University community. As we seek to be respected as students, we
must also respect the rules that govern us.
This incident is an unfortunate consequence of building tension between the students and the
administration. This tension finally hit a breaking point on Wednesday afternoon and the remedy is a
vote on the Board of Governors. The lack of this vote drastically weakens the student voice,
especially in the discussions on setting tuition and fees. Our inclusive University Senate has
criticized the budgeting policy, citing student input as “critical”1
to the process. Tension between
students and University administrators and will naturally continue to build until these transparency
and representation issues are resolved.
A staff member putting his hands on a student is entirely unacceptable, but it cannot distract
us from the deeper issue at hand. Students are the lifeblood of every university, and likewise a large
contributor to the budget. We deserve voting rights to effectively advocate for ourselves in the
University administration. As we write this letter, Bill A2134 sits in the New Jersey Assembly
Higher Education Committee. The bill proposes to have two student representatives to the Board of
Governors, one of whom will be a voting member. As we continue to lobby New Jersey state
legislators in support of A2134, we urge students to contact their legislators in an effort to achieve
this vote. We will fight relentlessly to advocate for the entire student body, but we cannot achieve
fair representation without your help.
Sincerely,
Justin Schulberg
Rutgers -New Brunswick
Student Body President
Class of 2017
Evan Covello
Rutgers -New Brunswick Student
Body Vice President
Class of 2018
Anish Patel
Student Representative to the
Board of Governors
Class of 2017
1
Report and Recommendations on Charge S-0414 (Report No. S-0414). (2007, April). Retrieved from
http://senate.rutgers.edu/BFConStudentFeesApril2007AsAdopted.pdf