Throughout the months during and following the Academic Transformation, we have looked on as the administration at WVU has made clear its utter disregard for the well-being and interests of the members of the very institution it claims to represent. Despite numerous attempts to disguise the true nature of the transformation, its devastating effects on the health of the university cannot be hidden. No number of empty gestures of support will repair the financial and emotional pains suffered by the faculty who have had their lives upended by the cuts. Nor will vague promises of alternative paths bring back the majors of students who have been forced to reconsider and reconfigure their entire career plans.

     But most significantly, President Gee and the Board of Governors have done irreversible damage to our institution by destroying every sense of trust in current leadership and desecrating the image of WVU in front of the entire nation. Throughout the entire process they claimed transparency and willingness to cooperate, yet at every step of the way the voices of the community were cast aside and silenced. We made our voices heard. Through public testimonies, walkouts, petitions, and even an overwhelming 797-100 vote of No Confidence in President Gee, we exhausted every possible avenue in a desperate plea to the administration. And yet the collective cries of the community have continued to fall on deaf ears.

     And now, after all that has transpired, the Board of Governors is now undergoing a search to determine the next leader of our school. In the words of our current President Gordon Gee, “Higher education is at a crossroads.” To this I must agree. All throughout the country, we are seeing the unchecked power held by the few in control of academic institutions being weaponized against the many in the ruthless pursuit of their business interests. Therefore, we must once again harness our collective power as members of the community to fight against these unjust measures. In this time of crisis, we are also presented with an opportunity to set an example both within WVU and for schools nationwide: to demand Democracy. After witnessing the magnitude and severity of harmful actions taken against us and our school, never again will we accept complete exclusion from these decisions. If the university intends to pride itself on transparency and honesty, then it must reflect those values in its internal processes. For all of these reasons, we demand that WVU allow for the selection of the next President through a vote involving ALL WVU employees and students. We unequivocally refuse to continually be silenced and ignored.