What They Said: Reflections on the North Park Town Hall

Sitting in the Urban Peace Lab on the third floor of Magnuson, Dr. Peter St. Jean—chair of the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, as well as the Criminal Justice Chair in the School of Professional Studies—began to draw a physical illustration of the campus climate. What he had drawn was an image of a pressure cooker on a stove and he began to explain that sometimes people better understand concepts through metaphors, he considered that the campus climate should be thought of in terms of a pressure cooker with a faulty valve sitting on a well-lit stove, saying that “every now and then the valve is going to try to do its job[releasing pressure]—people are going to quit, people are going to try to interrupt.” This illustration is a clear example of what we saw happen at the town hall event last week, the built-up pressure from students began to burst and they needed their voices to be heard.

 As we noted at the end of our article from earlier in the week, since the events of the town hall we have been seeking reflections and statements from those who were there, reaching out to students, faculty, and staff. Following are the reflections from students Daniel Strom, Fridz Frezar, and Belinda Bahn; faculty members Dr. Peter St. Jean, Dr. Nancy Arnesen, Dr. Reinhold Dooley, and Dr. Rachelle Ankney; as well as comments from alums and current staff members, some of which preferred to not be identified by name. We also reached out to the President’s Office asking for an official response and were told to use the statement that was sent to faculty and staff after the events of the town hall. We have included an image of that email below.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, as Vista began to meet with different individuals on campus and gather written statements, we saw common themes run through all of what people were telling us as they were reflecting on the monumental events of the prior week, some people who have little to no interaction with one another shared nearly identical quotes. People were concerned that the events were inappropriately billed as a town hall, as is the case of North Park alum and current staff member who said, “you can’t say that it’s a town hall and then not let people talk until the last fifteen minutes.” This sentiment was felt by students as well, as Belinda Bann wrote to us saying, “I thought a town hall meeting was supposed to be for conversation, but it turned out to just be a presentation from someone who does not know North Park.” Clearly there is a disconnect between what people thought they were promised and what they were actually given in last week’s event.

Disappointment was certainly a theme in people’s reactions to what was shared at the town hall, such as Dr. Rachelle Ankney of the Mathematics Department shared was us, writing “it's just so disappointing that the board and senior team's version of listening to the campus' other stakeholders was revealed to be a 2-day conference with 10-15 faculty (no students) to go over data that is chosen for us by a consulting company. Students, staff, and faculty at North Park can do so much more than that. We have so many skills and so much creativity to offer for making North Park's restructuring help it live into its core values more fully.” Dr. Ankney was not the only one disappointed with the presentation and plan moving forward, as others remain a bit skeptical of the process, such as Dr. Nancy Arnesen of the English Department, who wrote to us saying that her “bias as a Humanities professor is…skeptical of data and market-driven analysis. It’s not clear to me how qualitative analysis or creative thinking will supplement the information gathered by the consultants. Nor do I see the imagination, experience, and expertise of the people on the ground (i.e. faculty, staff, students) being highly valued in the process as described.” These thoughts shared by professors in completely different departments are illustrative of the frustration and hurt that is far-reaching on this campus.

Still, even with disappointment, many shared feelings of hope and inspiration after the actions taken by students to assert their place as stakeholders of the University. Dr. Reinhold Dooley—Chair of the English Department, Director of Core Curriculum, and Vista Advisor—wrote that he, “applauds the students for courageously claiming ownership of their rightful place at the center of the university, as the ones who pay the bills. It recalled Reagan’s classic line: ‘I paid for this microphone!’” Furthermore, he expressed that he, “applauds the president for demonstrating quality leadership, knowing when to speak but also when to listen. I hope this results in a series of town hall meetings, defined as speaking with, not to, students, faculty, and staff in order to create a healing environment.” Dr. Arnesen also expressed that she was “encouraged by the intentional and articulate student presence at the meeting and inspired by the students who spoke so clearly about the distress and exclusion felt by many on campus.” Even if the administration was frustrated by the student presence and interruption of the event, many faculty and staff members asserted that they deserved to be there and appreciated the student voices and perspectives shared. A current staff member and alum who prefers not to be named spoke to Vista and expressed that the student actions were “inspiring for those of us that are here and that really care.”  

“In order for us to do good in North Park Next, we ought to excel in North Park Now.”

Thematically, we also heard in these reflections about the hurt on campus. Belinda expressed to us frustration that the presenter from GrayAssociates “did not know that North Park was dealing with other issues besides programs, that we were hurting…” Nearly every person that we talked to and received written statements from addressed the pain that is palpable on this campus. In Vista’s interview with Dr. St. Jean, he expressed that, “as an African person, I don’t just talk for you to hear me, I talk for you to feel me.” This was evident in our conversation, where he clearly expressed steps to move forward but spoke with emotion even going as far to say that what we need is a “healer-in-chief” on campus. Furthermore, he expressed that it is not always the case that bad leadership is the cause of organizational problems, but that “good leadership can be the cause of its solution.” He also noted that he is, “the professor of justice on campus” and that it is his “life’s mission is to reduce suffering and improve quality of life.”  Perhaps the most defining statement that he made during our half-hour conversation in the Urban Peace Lab was when he said, “in order for us to do good in North Park Next, we ought to excel in North Park Now.” He shared that we all must work together to save North Park, the institution we love, and that his “sleeves are rolled up” and he’s ready to get to work.  

“There is still work that needs to be done, but as long as we stand together I know it can be done.”

Finally, the students who boldly spoke up at the town hall expressed the reasons they felt they needed to speak up in the first place. Fridz Frezar in an interview with Vista expressed that he, “wanted to speak because I noticed that a bunch of students were voicing some of these concerns that were not being addressed by anybody.” He was using his platform as a well-known student leader on campus to voice the concerns felt by many students. Further, he expressed that he’s “doing this because I love North Park, I love the student population, I’m doing this because I love the faculty and staff members. But North Park has failed us.” Nearly everyone we spoke to recited that these actions are done out of love for the university, out of care to, as Fridz put it, “make it [North Park] better than it is right now for future students.” Daniel Strom, the other student who helped organize the interruption and spoke out at the town hall made a declarative statement on the power of joining together with faculty and staff as he wrote to us saying that, “it means we need to show up in this time and place for one another” and that he, “look[s] forward to seeing how we can continue to build power because at the end of the day, the decisions that impact us ought to be made by us—it’s that simple.” Fridz also shared a similar message when he told us that, “there is still work that needs to be done, but as long as we stand together I know it can be done.”