The Clark Undergraduate Workers Strike was an event in which the Clark administration further lost respect from both the student body and faculty. The administration is still refusing to call the hard-working students who keep the campus running “workers” and siding with the Trump administration on labor issues. It’s fair to say that given the famously progressive student body, the strike has further degraded the reputation of the administration. One of the most infamous incidents that occurred over the course of the strike was when Provost John Magee got a police escort. 

I was at the scene of the strike when Provost Magee left the Geography Building, where President David Fithian was giving his “State of the University” address. Many strikers had gathered outside waiting to confront the provost, demanding he agree to card check neutrality. However, as Provost Magee raced to the Alumni and Student Engagement Center (ASEC), a horde of students, as well as Teamsters followed him, yelling, “card check neutrality now!” The students did keep their distance, following him about five feet away urging him to agree to the student’s demands. Magee, like an American politician ignoring their constituents, avoided interaction with the students and walked along to his office, deciding to disregard the people who keep the University he partially runs afloat. Although it was unlikely Magee was going to drop everything there and agree to a card check neutrality on the spot, the infamous event would later occur once Magee left ASEC, in which he received a police escort. 

I was unable to catch the moment when Provost Magee entered the police vehicle; however, somebody did catch him in the act with a photo of him entering the car. A photo that has been circling around campus since the event occurred with many pointing out the hypocrisy of the administration, who claims they are “listening to students” while taking police escorts to avoid criticism from students. When I first heard of the news that Magee had a police escort arranged, I thought it was a joke as students were protesting peacefully and never got within five feet of the man. It was absurd to have a police escort when the assumed reason was to avoid hearing students criticizing him for not doing his job of listening to students. 

Clark administration’s image has been deeply tainted by this strike, but the actions such as Magee’s police joyride just unnecessarily ruined their reputation even further. Clark admin: it is convention we are challenging, not our own students.