I want to know

News broke out last February 12th that the three vice-rectors at Uppsala University and six faculty deans had signed a letter demanding the resignation of the rector Eva Åkesson. The news came like a bolt out of the blue for myself and probably for the vast majority of students at the university. Even more puzzling was to find out that the signatories of the letter refused to explain the reasons for their drastic demand, beyond a few vague statements squeezed out by the media. What was that all about? Had the signatories leaked the letter to the media on purpose? And if so, what was the point of going public if they were not willing to say why they were asking for Åkesson’s resignation in the first place?

Adding to the confusion, the leadership of the student union made a public statement that same February 12th expressing their full support for the rector but without providing any further clarity on the complaints leveled against her. Unless the student union leaders had more information than it was publicly available, it is hard to understand why they did so. By expressing their full support, they were in the awkward business of denying a series of accusations that no one apart from the signatories seemed to know much about. There had been other ways to express support for the rector without falling in a sort of dialectic twilight zone. One possibility: “As long as the signatories do not explain their arguments, we have no reason to doubt the capacities of the rector”. The onus should be on those demanding the resignation.

Looking at the whole situation from afar I could not help feeling that it was all about a power game in the upper echelons of the university. Students and employees at the university have been turned into the unwilling spectators of what to all intents and purposes amounts to a PR disaster. Maybe those involved in this affair have forgotten that Eva Åkesson is also our rector.

There are good reasons to deal with this kind of sensitive issues behind closed doors and in small committees. However, once the news have been broken to the public, any attempt to keep in the dark those who study or work at the university will only undermine the legitimacy of whatever final decision is taken. The konsistorium is meeting on February 20th to discuss the matter and decide upon eventual outcomes. I cannot speak for you, but I want to know.