The Weber State University chapter of the American Federation of Teachers Utah College Council, a union that represents faculty and staff in higher education, made the decision to host a conference tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. In an email sent to The Signpost, the union said that the conference will be held in front of Stewart Library.
This comes after the decision to cancel the 27th annual Unity Conference.
“Although the Unity Conference is a collaborative event across the institution, the conference is funded and coordinated through (Student Access and Success),” said Jessica Oyler, vice president for Student Access and Success. “That distinction in funding and coordination matters under HB 261 because SAS staff and other non-faculty employees fall outside the academic freedom protections specifically carved out in the law. As such, SAS programming must comply with the specific requirements outlined in HB 261.”
A programming guideline had been sent to the co-chairs and presenters as a guide in adhering to HB 261.
Oyler said the programming guidelines cannot include discriminatory practices including claiming social political systems, conflicts over power and suggesting individuals are inherently privileged, oppressed, racist, sexist or victims based on personal identity characteristics.
“I don’t know that we did a really good job delineating that this conference is hosted through Student Access and Success,” Oyler said. “And so there was some concern about this infringing on academic freedom.”
Academic freedom grants faculty permission to research and converse over topics without the fear of retaliation. The student affairs department falls outside of academic freedoms, and events must adhere to the laws outlined by HB 261, Oyler said. However, faculty are not constrained to these limitations.
The university says the decision to cancel the conference was made by the council members of the conference after presenters didn’t feel comfortable adhering to guidelines of the program and HB 261, Oyler would not say the content of the presentations.
Sarah Herrmann, an organizer of one of the panels, posted on a private faculty Facebook group, obtained by The Signpost, that presenters were directed to remove any mention of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion by the end of the day. Herrmann said “I am writing to express my deep concern about the precedent this sets for academic freedom, student scholarly development and the integrity of conferences and events hosted on campus.”
Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled Sarah Herrmann. It has been corrected.
