San Diego City College Academic Senate failed to reach quorum at its final meeting of the spring semester when more than half of the senators engaged in what organizers referred to as a “quiet protest” on May 19.
Fourteen of the 28 members boycotted the meeting, leaving the senate one vote short of the 15 required.
The agenda included votes on contentious resolutions regarding childcare and surveillance, as well as a first read of the faculty hiring prioritization list and the president’s annual report. All action items will now be postponed until the fall semester, leaving students and faculty who attended the meeting in hopes of commenting on the issues frustrated.
City Times obtained an email sent to the entire body by the President of the Chairs Cabinet and philosophy professor Soon-Ah Fadness before the meeting laying out the protesters’ grievances.
“Serving on Senate this year has been challenging for many if not all of us,” Fadness’ email read. “While we don’t always agree, I believe that we all have the same end: to serve our students. It feels as if we’ve misplaced the grace we use to allow one another – to have different perspectives on how to serve our students.”
In her message, Fadness listed six concerns, including inconsistent application of procedures, intimidation of senators and the suppression of faculty free speech.
Fadness declined to be interviewed for this story.
Members of the executive committee spoke to those gathered for the meeting and took the opportunity to push back, insisting the protest was just the latest attempt to undermine the senate’s president, Mona Alsoraimi-Espiritu, whose focus on reform and activism has ruffled feathers over the last year.
Secretary Norelle Martinez defended the president in what was supposed to be her end-of-year report to the Senate.
“I’ve witnessed her being unfairly scrutinized in ways that no previous academic president has and I admire that she consistently handles it professionally with dignity and respect,” Martinez said.
Martinez urged colleagues to resolve their differences through direct conversation, rather than let themselves be swayed by narratives “floating around.”
One senator — Jaime Estrada, who represents the Languages Department — said he was told not to attend the meeting by his department chair Philippe Patto, leaving Estrada confused.
Estrada believed the protest was inappropriate and chose to attend the meeting because he had not seen anyone from the Chairs Cabinet bring their concerns to the senate directly.
“The senate is open to the public,” Estrada said. “They have always said that anyone is welcome to (express their opinion on) any concerns they have.”
Patto declined to be interviewed for this story.
Alsoraimi-Espiritu said she has made herself available for communication, but none of the protesting senators reached out.
“I give people every opportunity to talk to me and to have direct, open communication about how they’re feeling,” Alsoraimi-Espiritu said. “And what they did was the opposite … instead sent a vague email that doesn’t really allow me to address anything specifically.”
Alsoraimi-Espiritu said she holds office hours every other week, which gives faculty and senators a chance to raise concerns. Senators are also free to make public comments at the beginning of every meeting.
Past president and Chicano/a/x professor Justin Akers Chacón, who spent 15 years serving in the Academic Senate before 2022, noted the change in civility.
Akers Chacón praised Alsoraimi-Espiritu for her advocacy for part-time faculty equity, student needs and incorporating student voices directly into the Academic Senate.
“I have never seen this kind of animosity, disingenuity and spite on display in a space where we are supposed to be collegial intellectual educators, critical thinkers, and people who, even in disagreement, can be honest and fair with each other,” he said.
Members of the City College Associated Student Government and MEChA attended the meeting to comment on the childcare and surveillance resolutions. They were furious at the protest, which they saw as an attempt to dodge conversation about controversial issues.
“They’re protesting against some resolutions that help students, new students, returning students,” ASG Secretary Crystal Cruz said. “It’s just really disturbing to see where they stand.”
Inter-Club Council President Sergio Montiel was more blunt.
“It’s disgusting. It’s anti-student, anti-democratic,” Montiel said. “These are the spaces where these conversations should happen and if you’re intentionally avoiding these conversations … that says more about you than it does about the people that you are protesting.”
Academic Senate will reconvene at the start of the 2025/2026 school year.
Edited by David J. Bohnet, Tresean Osgood
