By: Sydney Umstead, News Editor
President Stoute gave his annual State of the University Address on Wednesday, Oct. 9, and despite multiple students showing up, they were not allowed in. This came a day before The Griffin’s lunch with President Stoute.
Two police officers stood on opposite sides of the entrance to the Regis Room while students waited around them: some even sat on the floor doing their classwork, determined to stay in solidarity with each other and their professors. Others were commenting on the situation as it unfolded.
The students, faculty and The Griffin believed it was an open event, but only upon arrival did they find out differently.
The State of the University was posted on Canisius’ The Dome, which, according to its website, is the “go-to source for university news and updates for Canisius faculty and staff.” On The Dome, there are postings such as student welcome events and information, and students can access The Dome through their student portal under the News and Events tab.
The information for the State of The University address was posted on Oct. 8, stating “Just a reminder that President Steve Stoute will deliver his State of the University address Wednesday, Oct. 9.” It continued, “The event will take place from 3:00-4:30 p.m. in the Regis Room, located on the second floor of the Richard E. Winter ’42 Student Center.” It did not explicitly mention students, whether they were invited or not.
A post on The Dome on Oct. 6 read, “Please mark your calendars for Wednesday, October 9, 2024, for the State of the University address. This event will take place from 3:00-4:30 p.m.” Again, nowhere did it say students were not welcome.
While waiting for the event to start, the present reporter and another student were told only faculty and staff were permitted. Later, The Griffin was informed that no students, the Editor-In-Chief and USA President included, have ever been ‘allowed’ in the room, despite past attendance.
Some professors brought their students, who also remained outside the address while it was ongoing. The groups of students were told that the State of The University has historically never been open to students; however, last year The Griffin reported on the address on Oct. 20 with the article “Canisius ‘will not be returning’ to Lyons Hall.”
Furthermore, a recorded version of last year’s State of the University is still available on the student home homepage. At last year’s address at the minute 44:37 mark, President Stoute specifically said, “We do have some of our journalists, student journalists from The Griffin. We want an open and frank conversation.”
President Stoute allegedly claimed that the conversation on Oct. 9 was not one that students needed to be a part of.
The Buffalo News reported on Wednesday that Stoute used the State of the University to announce a plan to “erase its $7 million deficit by trimming $15 million from its budget while still ‘reinvesting’ at least $4.25 million in new programs to serve adult learners.” In the article, they state that when Stoute became president in 2022, Canisius was operating at a deficit that was roughly $20 million.
Business Insider reported on the event, stating that “In a campuswide address Wednesday, Canisius University President Steve Stoute said the school is looking for students, faculty, staff, trustees and other stakeholders to examine the campus’ overall operations and come up with a plan to save money — more money than the deficit it's up against.” Furthermore, “According to the school’s most recent tax filing — for the year that ended May 31, 2023 — the school had $99.9 million in revenue and $104.6 million in expenses, a difference of $4.65 million,” and “In the prior year, expenses exceeded revenue by $4.48 million.”
Following the blockade at the door of the “campus wide” –according to Business Insider – event, The Griffin spoke with Anita Butera, associate professor and director of criminal justice.
Butera stated that when Stoute was asked about the planned $15 million cut at the event on Wednesday if that would mean cutting faculty and departments, she received “no answer” and “no specific plan.”
She also asked for The Griffin to include this statement: “I want to apologize to all students for not fighting for you more, for not being better than we have been, and for not using tenure for what it is worth using, and that is social justice for all: students, faculty, and low-level administrators.”
It is unclear whether or not there will be a separate event for students; however, a piece of paper was passed around and students were prompted to write down their name and email for a potential future meeting with President Stoute.
When Stoute left the room he called out “Hey fam,” to the students outside of Regis. After a slight back and forth, he said that he always had time for the students, and meetings would be communicated at some point via USA President Tim Sanders.
At the event, there were also claims that Stoute would address the student body at a later time, via lunch with The Griffin on Oct. 10. The staff submitted questions for the lunch a week prior to this unfolding, as requested by The Office of The President.
While The Griffin is representative of the student body, it does not serve as an effective one-on-one conversation between the President and the students, and we have never claimed as such. It is unclear where that came from, but it is untrue.
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