Dear Peter,
To: University of Oregon Senate Meeting of: March 12, 2003 Senators: I
am here on behalf of the many faculty members who think that every civil
institution, including the UO, needs to speak out against the madness that is
driving our country to a war of aggression. In December, you
decided not to consider resolutions against the war in Iraq. Many of you supported that position by
stating that you were unaware of the views of your constituents on such a
matter. In response to
that position, and in keeping with the UO Senate Charter, 548 faculty members
signed a petition calling for an Assembly Meeting to debate and vote on a
resolution against the Iraq War. The outcome of
that meeting was a clear, if unofficial, outcry against the war. In other ways as well, Senators have
had the opportunity to become aware of the views of the faculty. In addition, those Senators who, in
December, felt unsure of their own views regarding the war have had further
opportunities to think about the implications of the war for the future of
America and, inevitably, for the University of Oregon. Background: The legislative
power of the Assembly, meeting upon petition of 33% of the Voting Faculty, was
written into the Senate Charter in 1995. It was envisioned by the Assembly as a
democratic recourse for rectification of Senate mistakes. The quorum requirement set by the
Oregon Public Meetings Law in 1974, combined with the stringent signature
requirement, ensured that hard-won Senate actions would not be capriciously
undone. For most of the
period when the Assembly was the governing body of the University, classes were
prohibited on Wednesday from 4-6 pm, enabling all faculty to participate in
Assembly meetings. In more recent
years, however, the Assembly had to ignore the quorum requirement in order to
operate at all. This problem was related to a strike-breaking manoeuvre, in
which hundreds of classified staff were re-defined as "Officers of
Administration", thus becoming faculty members. As a result, the fraction of the membership in attendance
fell off -- most of these new Officers did not feel free to take leave from
their duties as "office managers", "technicians",
"radio sports broadcasters", etc. Also, the prohibition on Wednesday afternoon classes fell by
the wayside, possibly as a consequence of a shortage of University classrooms. Even though the
Assembly has taken numerous actions in the absence of a quorum in the past,
including the 1995 adoption of the present University Senate Charter, the
petitioners were made to understand that Assembly action on an anti-Iraq War
resolution could occur only if a quorum of approximately 1050 Assembly Members
convened. (Later, two days before
the Meeting, President Frohnmayer informed the petitioners that even a majority
vote of a quorum would not pass the resolution -- the "aye" vote
required would be an absolute majority of the Assembly Membership.) Thus, it was clear
from past experience that this Assembly would need the leadership of its
president (Dave Frohnmayer) to carry out its mandated responsibilities to
debate and vote on the issue that was passed to them by Senate inaction. President Frohnmayer failed the
Assembly in all respects: he failed to cancel classes and close offices, he
failed to make an Audix call encouraging attendance, and he set the meeting for
a Friday, when Members who had made prior travel plans would be unlikely to
attend. Under such circumstances a
quorum was impossible. In the meanwhile,
our Federal Government has proceeded with its plans for invasion, appearing to
ignore the widespread opposition from governments and peoples throughout the
world. So, I address you
today. Should the Senate decide,
on its own initiative, to revisit an anti-Iraq War resolution, its
constituents, who have fully demonstrated their position on the question of
this War and on the importance of an institutional stance against it, would be
deeply grateful. A petition signed
by 383 members of the Voting Faculty specifically urges you to take that
stance. Respectfully, Franklin W. Stahl Emeritus Professor
of Biology
Subject:
Memo to be posted
Date:
Mon, 17 Mar 2003 14:22:40 -0800
From:
Frank Stahl
To:
gilkey@darkwing.uoregon.edu
CC:
jfoss@oregon.uoregon.edu, bojadan@oregon.uoregon.edu, dapope@oregon.uoregon.edu
The attached memo to UO Senate was delivered into their hands on
March 12. Will you please post it on the UO Senate Web site? You might
footnote that a more careful count of the signatures indicated more than
400 members of the voting faculty had signed the petition referred to.
(Perhaps you would like to verify them.)
Thank you,
Frank