The Office of Campus Activities with the help of the student organization SAGA hosted an interactive event with President Garvey on October 23, 2014. The Town Hall Meeting with President Garvey allowed undergraduate, graduate, and law school students to ask questions or present ideas directly to the highest administrator at the Catholic University of America. The event was sponsored in light of backlash from CUA students and faculty, some of who participated in a protest around campus a few days prior.
Natasha Backman, Senior Economics Major at Student Protest
Questions posed by students varied from the firing of the Provost, the cancelation of the CUA Democrats screening of Milk, rumored changes to the Art and Architecture buildings, larger class sizes in the Music school, academics, and transparency within President Garvey’s administration.
Recently, the Office of Campus Activities approved the CUA Democrats screening of Milk, a film about the gay rights activist and politician Harvey Milk. However, OCA abruptly canceled the event without a valid explanation to students. Natasha Backman, a senior economics major, proclaimed an interesting concern at the Town Hall Meeting regarding the unwelcoming presence towards LGBT students at CUA. Natasha stated, “The administration’s actions have worsened the unwelcoming atmosphere for the LGBT community at CUA. I am optimistic about the possibility of change due to the culture of empathy praised at Catholic.” She also created a virtual petition that received over 600 signatures supporting the LGBT community at CUA. She plans to send a copy of her petition to President Garvey within the next week.
Although the Town Hall Meeting was a proactive step to listen to the concerns of students at CUA, President Garvey diverged many questions and didn’t spell out specific future changes for the university. The truth is that the Catholic University of America, just like any other college, is a business and the students are the customers. Tuition is consistently being raised and now surpasses $50,000.00 annually. The Catholic University of America relies solely on the student body and former alumni to survive; the least the university can do is provide valid answers and services.