UWSA student groups coordinator Renee Taylor fired
By Shane Lange
Lance Writer
January 20, 2010
The UWSA came under fire from an ex-employee this week in response to their swift dismissal of Student Groups Coordinator Renee Taylor during December’s exam period. Taylor, the former Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences representative on UWSA General Council, claims “they gave me absolutely no reason...they fired me without cause.”
The closest approximation of a rationale, says Taylor, was divulged by UWSA General Manager Dale Coffin, who said, “the organization is going in a different direction.” A confidentiality or privacy policy restricts the UWSA from any comment on former employees - officially, no one is talking.
A source close to the UWSA, however, accuses Taylor of “actions on her part that may have lead to her dismissal,” adding that an apparent breach of confidentiality and unethical conduct, “has something to do with it.”
The same source proposes that Taylor is “capitalizing on this [confidentiality policy]...to paint them [UWSA] in an unflattering light.”
A notice addressed to UWindsor student leaders posted on Taylor’s Facebook page the day after her firing may account for some of the hostility toward her.
She wrote, “I am deeply disappointed and saddened by the cruel politics that have gone on in this office,” and further lamented that, “not only was this decision unjust, but it was also unfair to the many Student Group leaders who have built a strong relationship with the UWSA through my effort.”
When she was informed of her termination by UWSA staff members Nicole Morrell and Dale Coffin, Taylor says they assured her that, “it was not a decision of their own but was strictly an executive one.”
Taylor conjectures that her aspiration to attain “more power to do things” within student government was the most likely motive. “There were no issues with me - at all.”
Hired as Student Groups Coordinator in May 2009, Taylor successfully ran for FASS rep in October’s by-elections.
UWSA’s Communications Coordinator Christopher Trotman expresses his indignance. “In no way do I think that Renee deserved to be fired...She had been doing her job, and doing it well since the summer of 2009.” |
