While every meeting of the Thelomathesian Society (Thelmo) is open to the student body, it is rare to see the number of students who sat in on the meeting this Wednesday, March 7. Some were student representatives from groups coming to request contingency funds or organizational status; however, what drew so many members of the St. Lawrence community was the discussion of concerns raised about the Association for Campus Entertainment (ACE) in last week’s meeting.
Last Wednesday, February 28, several senators raised allegations against ACE of discriminatory policies and practices, particularly concerning its executive board elections last year, and addressed problems with inclusivity and diversity at SLU as a whole. The discussion was officially added to the March 7 agenda.
Senator Tumo A. Koontse ’19 began the discussion by detailing his experiences and grievances with ACE. Next, Senator Mougheis Umar ’20 gave a speech about the marginalization of people of color and international students at SLU in a wider context.
The current ACE Executive Board then detailed how the structure of their organization works, as well as what their short- and long-term plans and options are in terms of ensuring representation for the entire student body. Finally, there was a brainstorming session about options for improvement going forward. Thelmo ultimately voted to open a formal investigation into the allegations against ACE.
Senator Koontse was formerly an ACE co-chair for special events in 2017. When recounting his version of events regarding last year’s executive board elections, he said that there was one applicant for president, an international student. He went on to say that certain ACE members said discriminatory things towards that individual, and someone said that they were “overqualified” for the position.
It’s an ACE requirement that to be president or vice president, one must have two semesters of experience in ACE; if nobody within the organization has applied, they can consider outside applicants who fill as many of the other criteria as possible. Senator Koontse went on to say that instead of giving the presidency to the person who had originally applied, ACE reopened the application process to allow someone else to take the position. He said they ultimately put someone on the ballot who had been in ACE previously but did not follow the formal procedure for applying.
Senator Koontse outlined three main problems he sees with ACE: their constitution does not guarantee students an equal chance of getting positions; there is nepotism in awarding positions to friends and housemates, which also relates to the idea that majority white members will continue to appoint other white members; and members who break the club’s constitution are not being held accountable.
He cited email exchanges between the former presidential applicant and the old ACE Executive Board, as well as an anonymous statement from a current ACE member. He also raised the claim that while ACE said they would send representatives to different marginalized groups on campus, he has not observed them doing so.
Senator Koontse called for several actions going forward, for the executive board to be elected by the student body (similar to the way the Thelmo Senior Executive Board is elected), for members of the current executive board to be held accountable, and for changes to the ACE constitution to make it more inclusive and representative of the student body. The sentiments regarding the need for greater representation and true inclusivity were reinforced in statements from Senator Umar and Chair for Diversity and Inclusivity Sadaf Delawar ’19.
The current ACE Executive Board gave a presentation that included an explanation of how their executive board works and how their budget (which is the largest organizational budget apart from Thelmo) is broken down. Current president Grace King ’18 told the group they wanted to have an open conversation about diversity and inclusion, and detailed actions she says the group has been taking this semester.
She said that as a new policy this semester, every other meeting of ACE is open to all students. Additionally, she said that they have implemented a comment box at the Student Info Desk, and that they have required all their members to attend meetings of different clubs on campus before spring break in order to get feedback and input from a diverse range of students.
She said they have also talked about the possibilities of constitutional review and opening executive board elections. The ACE Executive Board presented three different possible options for elections that would 1) use open elections for the four main executive board roles but retain the idea of the president needing two semesters of experience, 2) use open elections for the executive board but remove the experience requirement, or 3) use open elections for all positions on ACE except the assistant chairs. All positions on ACE are paid except for the assistant chairs. They also discussed other ways they have been trying to input feedback from students into ACE decisions, like sending out more surveys for Springfest and Fallfest, co-sponsoring Pride Week with Spectrum, and having a student opener at Springfest.
During the Thelmo brainstorming session, people praised those who spoke out, criticized the level of diversity and inclusivity on campus, and offered their takes on the ideas that were offered. Some raised concerns that open elections for ACE would simply turn into a “popularity contest” rather than actually considering candidates based on merit. One senator said that they supported an investigation into ACE’s policies but did not think it fair to paint them as a “racist organization.” Another responded by saying that regardless of intentional discrimination, the reality of privilege and unfairness is still serious.
At the end of the discussion, Thelmo voted on whether they felt there should be an official investigation into the claims against ACE. The motion passed, with 30 senators voting for, two voting against, and four abstaining.
Looking into the situation formally means involving people like Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion Kimberly Flint-Hamilton and Associate Dean of Student Life Rance Davis. If they find that action needs to be taken, the student government can impose a variety of remedies, such as sanctions or requirements that can be imposed before the next budget cycle, said John Robert O’Connor, who advises Thelmo.