As reported in Senate Beat in September, Senate has cited student sentiment as a primary motivator for their decision to withdraw funding from the Restorative Justice program. The decision-making process, Senate has stated, has been “informed by feedback from students who say that participating in Restorative Justice feels “weird” and “uncomfortable,” due to the fact that the organization’s activities are rooted in indigenous practices in a way that some students find appropriative.”
As part of our research on this issue, we ask that readers please take five minutes to fill out the anonymous survey below to help us understand the history of student experiences with RJ.
By Declan Bradley
About the Author
As a new editor of the Quest, Declan is already at work on a new version of the Quest site and, when not in class or reading a book somewhere in the canyon, is likely to be found holed up in the SPO listening to music and muttering something incoherent about semicolons and divs. Like Anie, Declan looks forward to working with both new and returning Quest writers this semester, and plans to spend more than a few late nights in the Quest office (before staggering into his 9 AM history class on Thursday morning).
I have concerns about the inability for someone to explain why they felt uncomfortable or not and why they agree or disagree with Senate’s decision. The survey should be amended to include those options.