Setting the record straight on protests and class
By Tommy Lee Woon, Associate Dean of Student Life, Office of Pluralism and Leadership
Published on Tuesday, May 2, 2006
To the Editor:
In Daniel Linsalata '07's op-ed column yesterday, he expressed concern that the Office of Pluralism and Leadership and the Center for Women and Gender were irresponsible in endorsing an Immigrant Solidarity Day rally that encouraged students to boycott classes. He also implied that our offices committed to and retreated from supporting the rally by asking the event's organizers to repeal our alleged endorsement.
While we will support education about immigrant rights, we will not endorse an event that calls for students to boycott classes and made this clear to the organizers. The organizers of the rally prematurely posted endorsements before we were even able to review their request for funding and co-sponsorship.
When we notified them of our position and called attention to their mistake, they took full responsibility for misrepresenting our offices and issued a correction: "We apologize for the error and oversight, but we mistakenly listed OPAL as one of our sponsors..."