Recently I have been going through a struggle. It has been quite some two weeks for me, and I really just need to type this all out and get it off my chest so I can calm down.
I have been faced with a decision to speak my opinion or not, and the decision to express that opinion has ate away at me for the last, almost, two weeks. Recently our school has been in a state of division: vote yes? Vote no? It has caused much of our student body to divide, friendships to turn into fights, and me into a wreck. I have not enjoyed being a University of Regina student recently, and it makes me sad that the only thing our school can get motivated about is fighting over a referendum.
I digress. The point of me being a wreck doesn’t have anything to do with the referendum itself, although it is rather interesting and I am well versed on the issue, the issue I have is more teacher related. On October 20, 2010 an email was sent out on behalf of the Education Students Society, which I am an active member in, that has caused me to rethink my position in the society.
An email was sent out on behalf of the Education Students Society on the 20th of October. This email was in regard to the CFS referendum. This email included “facts” about the referendum and encouraged the faculty to vote, as well as google certain topics regarding the referendum. The intent of the email could have been good. I absolutely agree that our Faculty should be made aware of the referendum, and we should be able to present information to them in a way that helps them make an informed decision.
This however did not happen. Not only was the email incredibly biased, although the ESS did not officially take any stance, but the information itself wouldn’t even be beneficial for students anyways. In order for people to make an informed decision, would you not want to give them as much credible information as possible? I did not find this email to beneficial in my decision-making process, and I had the feeling that others could feel similarly.
On the 19th of October the ESS was given a presentation from the “Vote No” perspective, and from this presentation the email was drafted. If the ESS wanted to take a stance on the topic, then would be the time. This did not happen, yet the email was sent out. The email was on behalf of the ESS, and as a member of the ESS I did not find it fair that I would be included in this. There was no mention whatsoever to the “Vote Yes” side of the issue, and therefore the email was propaganda. Although we did have a presentation on the “Vote Yes” side, there was no email mentioning this, nor was there anything whatsoever included regarding the “Vote Yes” side.
There was also no apology.
I feel there needs to be an apology. Not an apology for offending people, that is a nice thought, but it isn’t exactly apologizing for what is done wrong. This is an issue of accepting that something has been done wrong, and working from that to make it better, not being embarrassed that it happened, but using it to show that we of the ESS could work from this.
Then there is STF. Although we can’t get in trouble from STF as a students union, should we not be considering the STF code of ethics in our day-to-day life? I think about it often, because in a few short years I am going to be a teacher. It scares me, but excited me at the same time. From my understanding, its our role to not take a stance such like we did, and to give people the information needed, and to not tell people how to think. I feel like we have came very close to some of these issues, and I keep asking myself: If this happened in a meeting in a school, would the conversation been allowed to continue in the way that ours had?
I decided to speak my opinion, and was shut down. I decided to write my opinion, and was yet again shut down. As only a member of the ESS, not a VP of the ESS I have no voting power, so maybe my opinion didn’t matter in the first place.
I have come to a wall. I have never unsuccessfully tried to get my opinion across. I am frustrated, and feel awful. I ask myself daily if I did the right thing. I ask myself if it was worth voicing my opinion.
My intentions with joining the ESS had nothing to do with any political issues, or getting people to think like me. I joined because I knew nothing about the ESS. Until this point I had no clue what the ESS was, or what it had to offer me. It makes me sad that I didn’t pursue it further. I want to change that. I want our faculty to be involved. “Teaching is Stealing” is a phrase said often in my EMTH class and I believe that we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. I want to be able to have a collective group whom I can ask for help, it makes me feel like I’m not alone.
I want to know that my opinion matters, everyone’s opinion matters. I feel like if my opinion doesn’t matter, then do any of my contributions matter? If there isn’t an apology made I had it in my head that I would resign, it just doesn’t feel right. The more I think about it the more I feel like that wouldn’t solve anything. Maybe if I couldn’t make a difference this time, I could in the future. I ask myself the question “should I resign” at least a hundred times a day.
The ESS can do great things; it just needs to take steps in the right direction.
Samantha's Blog 