Sometimes storming the castle isn’t the best way to make
yourself heard.
Members of the Student Worker Front marched on Murphy Hall on
Tuesday, demanding that Chancellor Carnesale discuss the plight of
service workers with them. The UC service workers deserve support,
but the students’ confrontational approach may be dismissed
by the administration as naive enthusiasm.
On a purely practical level, Carnesale is a very busy person
““ he travels frequently and has a packed schedule of daily
meetings and appearances (and he wasn’t even in town
Tuesday). Many of those meetings are scheduled weeks in advance.
Demanding to see him on short notice isn’t likely to be
successful or inspire respect.
On the upside, the chancellor’s representatives did say he
would meet with the students on Thursday. This is the ideal time to
have constructive dialogue about the issue.
The student activism surrounding the plight of the poorly
compensated UC workers is a positive movement. In an age when youth
are criticized as apathetic, it’s good to see students
getting involved. But the activists should rely on the strength of
their arguments ““ not the loudness of their voice ““ to
get their message across.