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The Samford Crimson
. . . . Serving Samford University Since 1915 -
'olume 103, Issue 17 March 8. 2018 _ tln samfordc i imson con
SGA votes
in support
Dissatisfied alumna sends letter to faculty:
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Features, 6
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LGBTQ committee is 'insulting and insufficient'
DANIEL DODSON
News Writer
SGA votes in support of DACA students
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Lingering resentment from Samford
University students and alumni has
continued since the decision last
summer to halt the recognition of the
LGBTQ advocacy group, Samford
Together, on campus. Brit Blalock, an
alumna and LGBTQ activist, leads Safe
Samford, a group of students, faculty,
alumni and staff set up in 2011 to protect
and encourage LGBTQ indiviudals at
Samford. Blalock published an open
letter to Samford faculty on the Safe
Samford website where she expressed
her frustration in the wake of President
Andrew Westmoreland’s decision last
semester to not ask the university’s
trustees for official recognition
of the Samford Together group.
“I was frustrated with the situation
and I felt as though faculty were also
frustrated with the situation, but I felt
as though they were scared to act or
speak out about it,” Blalock said in an
interview with The Samford Crimson.
According to Blalock, who referenced
student organization manuals,
Westmoreland may not have followed
protocol when he chose to stop the
group from continuing on. A previous
University Recognized Student
Organization Manual updated in
June 2017 stated proposed student
groups would be submitted for
endorsement by the board of trustees
after they received faculty approval.
It reads: “Paperwork is submitted to
the Samford Board of Trustees for
endorsement. The Board of Trustees
will make a decision concerning the
recognition of the organization.” The
“Process for Recognition” portion
of the June 2017 manual made no
direct mention of the university’s
president having any involvement
WILLIAM MARLOW
News Editor
Samford University’s Student
Senate on Tuesday March 6, 2018
passed a resolution supporting
Samford’s DACA students.
According to the Pew Research
Center, the Deferred Action for
Childhood Arrivals program or DACA
protects 790,000 undocumented
children from deportation. However,
DACA expired on March 5.
Sen. Isaac Sours said he believes
SGA should help these students
complete their education even if
they lose their residency status.
Sours said the resolution wouldn’t
endorse the DACA policy and only
protects currently enrolled DACA
receipts. Sours said he wants
President Andrew Westmoreland
to publicly assure DACA students
they will be able stay at Samford.
Sours suggested Samford create
sponsor families for these students.
“They’re our fellow students, and they
should have the same opportunities.
The only way they should leave is with
a diploma like the rest of us,” he said.
However, Sen. Mitchell Whitley said
senate should avoid national politics.
Whitley said his fellow senators
political biases may have swayed votes.
Rather than SGA, Whitley said
Samford’s Latino Student Organization
and other student organizations
should lead this discussion.
“I think it’s important Samford
supports all its students, but my main
issue is the controversy it creates. It’s a
political statement,” Whitley said.
Whitley said universities’ biases could
also distort the debate. According
to The Atlantic, 600 universities
wrote letters to President Trump
supporting their DACA students.
Whitley said students should
drive the debate and suggested
SGA host town halls or create polls.
“With something so controversial,
we should get students involved.
Universities have students that lean
bothleft and right, andthey shouldn’tbe
leaning a certain way,” he said. Whitley
said Samford can’t protect DACA
students without violating federal law.
Ultimately, Whitley said Congress
should address DACA.
“Samford should stay neutral.
We shouldn’t try to solve this
issue ourselves,” he said. “We’re
not as qualified as politicians.
They’re experts in this field.”
SGA votes in support of DACA
students continued on page 2.
Samford University Librarv
in the student organization process.
The manual was revised in
September 2017 and now explicitly
states the university president will
have authority over whether or not a
group will be presented to the board
of trustees. The new manual’s “Process
for Recognition” portion now includes
an additional step between faculty
approval and a board of trustees vote.
It now reads: “The Vice President
for Student Affairs and Enrollment
Management, along with the University
President, will review the request and
make a decision concerning presenting
the request to the Board of Trustees
for final vote and full recognition.”
In response to questions
about the Student Organization
Manual, university officials said
Westmoreland did follow protocol.
“If a student organization receives
SGA and faculty approval, that
organization is brought to the Board
of Trustees for a vote at the discretion
of the President of the University.
This has always been the protocol for
student organization approval and
this was the protocol for Samford
Together,” Assistant Vice President for
Student Development Matt Kerlin said
in an email to the Crimson. “Agenda
items reach the trustees only at the
discretion of the University President.
This is the way universities function.”
Junior political science major Isaac
Sours, who along with three other
students, is a member of a 12-person
committee set up by Westmoreland
in the wake of Samford Together to
discuss issues pertaining to human
sexuality, shared why he believes
the president acted as he did.
“I recognize that he made the decision
to halt the approval process for Samford
Together, but I remain confident that
he did this in order to prevent the
board of trustees from permanently
barring the existence of any group
like Samford Together,” said Sours.
Safe Samford continued on
page 2.
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