Shortly after Jeff Brown was announced as next year’s AMS social issues commissioner, an anonymous e-mail was sent out alleging that there were problems with the hiring process, requesting that the AMS refuse to ratify Brown’s hiring and urging students to send letters of complaint to the new AMS executive, AMS Information Officer Greg McKellar and AMS Human Resources Officer Emily Lauzon.
The e-mail stated that “recently a major concern has been voiced regarding AMS hiring practices” referring specifically to the position of the Social Issues Commissioner, as well as stating that “a number of questionable hiring practices have been identified by the unsuccessful candidates, but they are facing difficulty in addressing this as there is no official appeal process.”
The authors of the e-mail have not come forward to claim responsibility, clarify their campaign or answer any questions. The e-mail was sent from sicreview@gmail.com. Despite attempts to contact the authors, the Journal has yet to receive a response. Lauzon, who is responsible for hearing grievances related to hiring, has said no formal complaints have been filed with her office.
The problems with the petition are many. Its anonymity aside, the vague accusations, without ever making any specific complaints, are confusing and unproductive at best and inflammatory and destructive at worst. Other than defaming Brown, what is accomplished by lashing out with anonymous, inarticulate and vague accusations? And the claim that “there is no official appeal process” is just plain false. Although the e-mail sparked some conversation among students, it mostly consisted of trying to understand what the petitioners wanted. The commission’s hiring practices are not being examined in a productive manner. To truly effect change, the groups need to start by working through the channels that exist and filing a legitimate complaint. Recently, there appears a growing trend towards the use of anonymity by students on campus. Instead of fully committing themselves to a cause and making themselves accountable to their words and actions, students are choosing to hide behind various modes of anonymous expression—a method used both by some members of the Other Campaign and the writers criticizing AMS hiring decisions. Not only do these irresponsible actions lack ntegrity, they also do nothing for constructive debate.
The Journal encourages the authors of the petition to write a signed letter to the editor clarifying their concerns and specifying the “questionable hiring practices” of the AMS.
We’d be more than happy to publish it.
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