“[We] decided that it would be a good idea to take some of the signs and leave them in the foyer for when Audrey Bilger returned to her office to see,” Larsen said, “My intention behind this was more quietly occupying the space or just leaving the signs, and the majority of people there came to just leave the signs. But there [were] a few people who were just really antagonizing the secretary. I just wanted to state that I believe that quietly occupying that space and leaving the signs there is something that’s productive [and] causes minimal harm, but antagonizing the secretaries who have a pretty shitty job … is not really productive, and just kind of makes things shittier for them.” Larsen further pointed out that secretaries are also Reed staff, but said that some seemed to see Bilger’s secretaries as a kind of “stand in for her.” Larsen went on to say that she just wanted to apologize to President Bilger’s secretaries, and that she “felt really bad” for how the situation had unfolded.
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. 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).
Obvious question: Did Lily Larsen apologize directly the secretary(s) personally, face-to-face? That is how apologies work. If not, why? If she did not want the secretary(s) to be “antagonized” then why did she advance her idea of leaving the signs? Why not just not do it if you could not ensure that the discourse would be civil? Doing bad things or causing bad things to happen and then apologizing just doesn’t cut it. Her “apology” just throws other people under the bus. Lily Larsen should take personal responsibility. That’s the honorable thing to do.