UVI Voice

Media Credit: Jaedee Caines

April 2, 2009--Following semesters of petitions, letters and student forums, some students on the St. Thomas campus have embarked on a series of visual protests in an effort to bring about change at UVI.

A group of students who call themselves STAFU, Students That Are Fed Up,  have pooled their resources to stage the most talked about protests at UVI since the overnight “paper protest” in Feb. 2008 by the Toriefa Alexander- led Student Government Association (SGA).

On April 1 2009, faculty, staff, and students woke to the painting of the letters S, T, A, F, and U on the lawn of the university’s golf course and to the vandalism of the Dining Pavilion.

Student Judicial Officer (SJO) and Student Housing Supervisor, Sean Georges, said in an interview with the UVI Voice, “Their [STAFU’s] main goal was to hinder the operation of the cafeteria for breakfast that day.” He added that while he supports student protests, he is saddened that STAFU’s actions can cause disciplinary actions to be brought against the group. 

“They seemed very well planned and well thought out, which I applaud as students, but my only concern is that their choice to vandalize will result in them facing actions. If persons are caught, it will be my duty as the Student Judicial Officer to impose disciplinary actions for violating the code of conduct,” Georges said.

Based on the information presented in the university’s Code of Student Conduct handbook, if caught, the members of STAFU can be charged with “Interference with or Misuse of the Property Rights or Services of the University or of Individual Students,” while students who are indirectly involved can be charged with “Aiding, Abetting and Complicity in the Destruction of University or Personal Property.”

The group of students who claim to be the “official 2012 enforcers” as outlined in the first edition of the STAFU constitution, has chosen to remain anonymous for “personal reasons.” In a Facebook interview, STAFU told this UVI Voice reporter how the name was selected for the group.

“We were on our first mission and we were wondering what would be our name and someone in our group stated that ‘we are students that are fed up’ and we used the first letter of each word and came up with the name STAFU.”

Among the list of demands outlined in the STAFU constitution are improvements that need to be made to the outdoor [basketball] court, main and occurring problems in the UVI cafeteria and the need to sell e-books in the Bookstore to help curb costs.

Freshman Biology student, Gabriel Ible, who is also “fed up” of a number of practices at UVI said, “They [STAFU] are going about it the wrong way. They’re trying to target the cafeteria workers but the custodians are the ones who had to clean up.”

Junior Biology student Cherissre Boateng feels the same way. “The idea of a group is a good idea to get students together to talk about issues but not like this. They should write a letter to the President and go to SGA,” Boateng said.

While STAFU, via its constitution states, “we are not delinquent students, think of us as students that take action,” SJO Georges believes, the acts of vandalism place them in the category of being delinquent.

An irate student, who wishes to remain anonymous because of fear of personal attack, told the UVI Voice, “They [STAFU] made themselves look stupid. They’re only getting the students attention.” The student added that while having a constitution is a good idea, it should have been prepared and circulated prior to “their [STAFU] illegal actions.”

As Student Housing Supervisor, Georges said that his department has been working closely with the Student Government Association’s Grievance Committee to address the ongoing food and service concerns of students who dine in the Cafeteria. 

“We want to ensure that we are addressing the students’ needs as best as we can with what we have right now,” he said.

Meantime, an interview with Grievance Committee chairperson Elisha Jno-Baptiste revealed a number of policies put in place to ensure a better dining experience at the cafeteria. These include the extension of grill-line hours and the initiation of student surveys.  She also appealed to students to take advantage of the SGA-sponsored forums. 

“These forums present the perfect opportunity to have your concerns heard; even by the President herself, but many students do not seize the opportunity.”

Jno-Baptiste, who is also a junior Biology student said, “as a student myself, I do not oppose student action towards getting changes done. However, I do believe that there is a more constructive manner in which things should be done. Vandalizing university property and causing individuals who have done nothing wrong with additional work isn’t exactly my idea of an effective mode of action.”

While many students and university officials are caught in the hype of the STAFU demonstrations, Business student Leah Hughes is asking, “Where was Security when the vandalism took place?” Referring to the painting of the word “STAFU” on the lawn adjacent the East Residence Halls, on-campus resident Ible said, “Security should be reprimanded because it takes at least 30 minutes to paint the golf course but they [Security officers] are quick to stalk out someone’s boyfriend or girlfriend’s car.”

With two protests (Feb. and April 2009) so far this semester, the STAFU group assures that their voices will be heard. “We choose to remain anonymous because no biased should be shown to members of STAFU. We would be hated by faculty and we need to be undercover just like everything that UVI tells us about new policies and rules. I assure you that everyone is a STAFU member,” STAFU consultant said.

STAFU’s demonstrations included the rearranging of the cafeteria with tables and chairs placed in front of the serving area, the draping of the cafeteria with toilet paper, putting signs on the walls, throwing grease and powder on the floor, the spray painting of “STAFU” on the golf course lawn and on a banner which was pinning to the roof of the cafeteria.

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