It’s all over but the shouting, and we at The Channels believe it is time to start looking forward. We congratulate you and wish you the best of luck. We would also like to offer our advice—from the student perspective—on how to improve on the performance of your predecessors.
Our previous trustees made tough decisions these last two years. No one envies them—or any budget-crunched politician.
But now that the board majority has had its big shakeup, it’s time to put aside your differences and get some real work done.
Clearly, Continuing Education has its well-publicized issues. If not, you three likely wouldn’t have run—let alone won your seats.
While these issues were a powerful platform for your campaign, know that the majority of your attention must lie here with us, on the credit side.
We take up most of the college’s budget and resources, as we should. After all, we’re just getting started on our education, and our friends at Continuing Ed have had their bite of the apple.
Yet, we credit students haven’t been feeling the love from our board. Our tutors, campus jobs and counselors have all been cut. Our teachers have lost most of their readers and teaching assistants. While the incumbents accurately said no full-timers have been laid off, many part-timers have.
We know that times are tight and something has to give. But the old board made some truly absurd decisions.
Construction costs on the Garvin Theatre — which benefits very few students—are nearing a staggering $20 million. The lavish—and empty—Press Box glistens atop the stadium.
Meanwhile, here in our cramped Campus Center newsroom, water and chunks of ceiling literally drop on our heads each time it rains. Staffers in other Campus Center and Humanities Building areas are dealing with health and safety violations and climate control hell.
A big issue in the campaign was “accessibility.” Accessibility is more than just holding open meetings and listing your name in the phone book. It’s actually caring about what the community has to say and encouraging their input.
And “being open” means just that. Anyone trying to wrest information from this administration knows how hard it can be. Public reports are often near impossible to get. The old board routinely met in private sessions, which is legal, but refused to disclose its decisions, which isn’t.
Now is the time to put the “trust” back in trustee, as you claimed you would.
Now is the time to focus on doing the greatest good for the greatest number of students.
It’s unfortunate that most credit students don’t even know the board exists or what you do. But these students—silent as they may be—need help too, more than they even know. We hope you take our advice to heart, and we look forward to seeing you in action.
Yours in a free student press,
The Channels editors
