March 16, 2002 – From sunrise to sunset Friday, the eve of the 40th anniversary of the founding of the University of the Virgin Islands, it was a day for UVI students stand up and make their voices heard.
Protesters gathered at dawn on the St. Croix campus to voice their opposition to UVI board of trustees procedures in selecting the school's new president.
As the sun rose, members of the United Student Government Association joined faculty and alumni on the palm-lined roadway leading into the St. Croix campus, not for a walkathon that was taking place but to herald dissatisfaction with the selection of Laverne Ragster over Robert Jennings, their favored candidate for the post.
"We have nothing personal against her [Ragster]," one protester said. "We feel that Jennings' strong fund-raising ability can be an asset to the expansion of our university."
Students also said the selection of Ragster to be UVI's fourth president was a repeat of the previous processes in choosing Arthur A. Richards to succeed Lawrence C. Wanlass in 1980, and Orville Kean to succeed Richards in 1990. "She's his protégé," one said of Ragster and Kean, who will retire in September. "She will follow the same train of thought."
The trustees announced their choice of Ragster after meeting on March 9. The Student Government Association groups on both campuses, in a letter to the board drafted on Sunday, charged that one trustee had tried to influence the votes of the others and that Kean had voted although he had "did not attend any of the candidates' interview sessions." The letter called for the board to "reconsider its decision."
"We felt the process was tainted and flawed," Earl Haase III, an SGA freshman senator, said Friday. "Why did they ask us for our input and then did not act on it?"
Ragster and Jennings were two of the three finalists in the selection process. Ragster is senior vice president and provost at UVI, where she has spent her entire teaching, research and administrative career. Jennings is chief executive officer of Future Focus, a research entity at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, and has served as vice president for development at four southeastern U.S. universities. The other finalist was Laurence I. Peterson, dean of the College of Science and Mathematics and tenured professor of chemistry at Georgia's Kennesaw State University.
UVI students, faculty and alumni were invited to attend meetings with the candidates for president on both campuses March 5-8 and to submit written feedback to the board on each candidate. In an invitation to attend the meetings, trustees board chair Auguste E. Rimpel Jr. noted that "feedback on a candidate's presentation should not be considered as a vote for a particular individual" and that "final responsibility and authority for appointing the president rests with the board of trustees."
Friday morning, students donned white T-shirts with hand-painted slogans expressing their opposition to the board's decision as alumni and faculty awaited participants of the 40th anniversary Charter Day Weekend UVI Queen Mary 5K Run/Walk. Some faculty on hand for the event nodded in agreement or openly cheered the students on, while others looked on clearly disassociating themselves from the protest.
More than 50 students joined by some alumni lined Queen Mary Highway (Centerline Road), waving banners and chanting slogans — "We want justice!", "Rusty board of trustees!" and "No confidence in the board!" Some passing motorists honked their horns in support.
Abigail Maynes, an alumna of the Class of 2001, said she came out to lend support. "I was at the university for six years and became frustrated, " the computer science graduate said. "Just when the St. Croix campus gets a chance to grow, funding is cut," she continued. "I played sports, and that was cut," while the St. Thomas campus got a new sports complex.
On Friday afternoon, the St. Croix SGA met to discuss the morning activities and finalize plans for an evening protest outside Government House in Christiansted. At the meeting, Marthious Clavier, SGA president, called their morning protest "very successful."
"Even the administration and staff said it was well organized and peaceful," he said, urging his fellow students to remain "professional and civil" as they made their plans for the evening event.
The mood became somber as Clavier presented a synopsis of a letter Rimpel issued Friday in response to the one the USGA had sent to the trustees. "The letter states that we have no legal foothold, we have no rights to continue our disagreement," he related. (See separate story, "UVI chair, chancellor say board acted properly".)
Rimpel wrote that the trustees had referred the USGA letter to UVI's legal counsel, Samuel H. Hall Jr., who was present at meetings during the selection process. If the students had a concern, it should have been voiced immediately at the board meetings by the student or faculty representatives in attendance, Rimpel wrote. He also said the university bylaws clearly state the role of the president as an ex-officio member of the board.
A strong feeling of pride was apparent in the room concerning the message the students had delivered not only to the UVI administration but to the community as a whole. "It has grown on me," senior senator Eszart Wynter said. "We have to improve the services and curriculum being offered."
The students agreed that UVI has enriched their lives, but also that as students they should be afforded a greater stake in the decision-making processes to determine the future of what one termed this "fine institution" for young Virgin Islanders.
Exhausted after all-night planning, the early morning march and the boycott of other 40th anniversary Charter Day Weekend activities on campus, the SGA Senate went into closed session to discuss Rimpel's letter, promising to update its membership after a teleconference with its counterparts on the St. Thomas campus.
SGA leaders said they hope the new president will sit down with them to feel the pulse of the student body, and that authorities will reform the selection process to allow students to have greater impact. One suggestion made was that the board of trustees include student representation based on the size of the student population. By law, the board consists of nine community members, three ex-officio government members, one elected faculty representative and one elected student representative.
Ragster said after the 5K Run/Walk that in addressing challenges that lie ahead, "The first step is to get faculty and students together to share issues and the opportunities they heard from other candidates they feel can benefit our institution." Students are the leadership of the future, she said, and "we have taught them the democratic system. Any time there is change, there is opposition." She added, "I truly look forward to working with them to continue to meet their needs and prepare them for the upcoming needs of this economy."
As students lined the street across from Government House Friday evening, faculty, administrators, community leaders and well wishers gathered upstairs in the imposing historic building for the UVI 40th anniversary reception honoring 10 distinguished alumni.
One UVI administrator stopped before the students on the street before ascending the formal stairway to the gala, but not to show support. Gwen-Marie Moolenaar, vice president for institutional advancement, told the students that they had not made an intelligent decision to carry on their displeasure with the board. "You should know all the facts, not just listen to hearsay," she said sternly. "Giv
e me a call on Monday, and let's talk about it."
Her displeasure evident, Moolenaar challenged the students to find any other institution where they could get a better education for the tuition at UVI.
As guests dined and conversed to the sounds of the Eddie Russell Quartet, drum beats could be heard from outside as the sun set and the student protesters solicited support from passing motorists and pedestrians, residents and visitors. One tourist stopped asked what the demonstration was about, then hung around for a few moments in solidarity.
As darkness fell, a conch shell blew into the night, alerting all above in the illuminated halls of government to be aware that democracy was at work.
