A petition circulated by the Kenyon Young Democratic Socialists of America (KYDSA) on Friday called for “more democratic and equitable access to information” from the Board of Trustees. The petition demands that the Board of Trustees distribute meeting minutes, designate half of all seats to faculty, staff, students, alumni and Knox County community members and that those seats be decided by direct competitive election. According to Vice President for Communications Janet Marsden, the administration has not received any formal outreach from KYDSA on the matter.

The petition positions itself in reaction to the “rightsizing” measures announced in November: “As it stands, the Board of Trustees has presented a downsizing program with little oversight.” The petition announces in its fourth paragraph, “While this is coming in response to legitimate financial struggles for Kenyon, the process of correcting those issues must involve oversight at the very least.” There is no available proof of the claim that the Board of Trustees had to do with the recent “rightsizing” measures. But the petition reflects unease among some students regarding the transparency of the decision-making process.

The Board of Trustees had its winter meeting earlier this month on Feb. 5 and 6. In an email to the Collegian, Marsden pointed out, “The Board of Trustees regularly meets with elected faculty and student representatives as well as other members of the campus community. Following each of its standing meetings, which take place in the spring, fall and winter, the Board issues a report recapping its activities, discussions and actions.”

When the Collegian spoke to KYDSA member Aidan Cullen ’26, who sent the initial email containing the petition, she stressed that those reports are not detailed enough to give an accurate representation of the content of the meetings. “I think we as students, faculty, staff, deserve to have that, to know what’s actually running these decisions,” she said. “It’s also about mutual respect and trust between both the Board and us.” 

In conversation with Cullen, the topic of meeting minutes dominated. At one point, she told the Collegian that KYDSA is primarily interested in the publication of minutes. She elaborated, “That’s something that’s achievable, it’s concrete and it’s something that breaks down that barrier between students and faculty, staff and the Board of Trustees.”

On the other hand, student trustees are not an unheard-of concept; several local public universities, such as The Ohio State University and Kent State University, appoint student trustees to their respective boards. Although less common, certain private universities, such as American University and Colorado College do the same. Kenyon’s Board of Trustees is currently made up of trustees-at-large, alumni trustees and parent trustees. Most are alumni of the College, with the most recent two graduating in 2005. As such, students have previously argued that the Board of Trustees should make a concentrated effort to include young alumni or student members. 

As of Wednesday, the KYDSA petition had 70 signatures and had not yet been formally presented to the administration. In an interview with the Collegian, Vice President for Student Affairs Celestino Limas encouraged KYDSA to address its issues with Student Council. “Student Council has always been a great place to work with to try and generate consensus and move ideas forward,” he said. “That’d be a great place to start and talk with student government, because they were elected by all of you, and so they serve your interests.”