Troy

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute will halt the hiring process for two open positions affecting the student union until after the board of trustees decides how much autonomy the union should have.

President Shirley Ann Jackson announced the hiring freeze in a statement emailed Wednesday afternoon while a large and boisterous group of students was protesting her leadership outside the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center. Several hundred students lined the walkway leading to EMPAC, holding signs and speaking out against what they perceive to be a takeover of the student union.

Tensions came to a head after several months of disagreement between administrators and students over the Rensselaer Student Union, a 125-year-old body that controls, finances and organizes student activities. Every enrolled student who pays an activity fee is a member of the union, and is governed by student leaders they elect each spring.

Students say the university has recently made moves to take over their control of the union, starting with the "mysterious" disappearance of the union's director in January and ending with a job posting for a new executive director of student activities who would provide leadership for the union and answer to the administration.

In her statement, Jackson said she asked the board's executive committee to meet with students and to review the union's constitution to decide whether any changes are warranted. In addition, the university will suspend any hiring for both positions until the review is complete, she said.

"I have great respect for the history and functions of the Rensselaer Student Union," she said. "There is clearly disagreement regarding the degree of autonomy for the union. The language of the union constitution is ambiguous. There is no ambiguity in that the Rensselaer Board of Trustees has the ultimate responsibility for the union. Therefore, it is appropriate for the trustees to look at the constitution and decide what independence and autonomy mean."

Students' concerns go beyond the fate of the union, they said Wednesday. The administration has promoted a culture of fear that's had a chilling effect on open speech by students and faculty over the years, they said.

"That culture is keeping us back," said Dan Seel, one of three students who originally sought permission to hold a demonstration. "With the faculty, students, alumni and graduate students working together, speaking freely and running this institute it could be so much more than it is today."

The most recent example, they say, was the administration's denial of a student request to "peacefully assemble" outside EMPAC on Wednesday, when Jackson was scheduled to lead a town hall meeting inside. To enable the demonstration, Professor Bill Puka invited the community to attend his annual "Spring Serenade on Democracy & Ethics," which he moved to the time and location of the planned protest.

Still, RPI officials, including public safety officers, denied some media members access to the protest, which drew more than 200 students, alumni and some faculty.

The officials told a Times Union photographer and local TV news outlets the event was private and turned them away. RPI TV, the student-run television station, said it was refused access to cover an emergency student government meeting last week and denied the ability to record a forum on student issues this week.

When pressed for access on Wednesday, RPI staff told the Times Union that "it originally started that they didn't want anybody, any press here on campus, and that since has changed."

When asked why some media were turned away, the staff member told the Times Union: "Don't ask for any other comments from me, OK? Because I'm not gonna — I just work here, all right? You're here, right? Then don't argue."

bbump@timesunion.com • 518-454-5387 • @bethanybump