What Happened: One of the organizers of the planned student walkout against CU President Bashar Hanna, Michael Rafizadeh, a senior digital forensics major, is calling for the walkout to stand out following Hanna’s resignation.
Why it Matters: In an email to Voice staff, Rafizadeh stated, “Because of the resignation, APSCUF has reached out to me and asked me to stand down the protest.” At the time of writing, Rafizadeh revealed that the Google form attached to the flyers had 22 signups.
The Background: This comes after Hanna, in an email released the day before the planned protest, announced he would resign as president of Commonwealth University, effective July 31, to accept a position in PASSHE as vice chancellor for strategic initiatives. The email announced he would start the position on August 1.
(Update posted 4/30 2:35 pm) Rafizadeh speaks further:
In a later interview with The Voice, Rafizadeh cited recent controversies as his reasoning for orchestrating the walkout. “It did not feel like students were being asked about how they felt. It did not feel like there was any real opportunity for the student body to share their voice about the situation and about their concerns with Dr. Hanna’s leadership,” Rafizadeh said.
At the announcement of Hanna’s resignation, he expressed his surprise while stating he was not expecting it to see that so soon. He later said, “I was happy to see that I’d achieve the goals of the protest before it actually happened.”
As reported, Hanna’s announcement came the day before the planned walkout, which Rafizadeh noted. “I don’t know for sure, but I do feel like the timing of is not a coincidence. I do feel like it’s possible that the email was a response to the planned walkout.” He later elaborated that while he felt Hanna’s resignation was already forthcoming, the walkout played a role in an earlier announcement than planned.
As to why he made the decision to call the walkout off, he elaborated on APSCUF’s role, saying, “Continuing to hold a protest would look a little bit like we’re dancing on his grave (Hanna) or being disrespectful, and we should avoid doing that and maintain a clean image.”
On Hanna’s new position, Rafizadeh said, “I think it’s an indication of something we knew, which is that the problem is not just with Dr. Bashar Hanna; it’s with PASSHE.”
“I think there is some optimism, maybe that at least at Bloomsburg that things might look a little better for us here on this campus.”
Before concluding, Rafizadeh urged students, “If you continue to have problems, then keep asking, keep inquiring, keep asking for accountability from the administration, whether that be from the Commonwealth University administration or from PASSHE itself and stay educated on what’s going on and what’s happening on campus and what you can do about it.”
The Voice will continue to report on this story as it develops.
