Spring Break
Open Letter to University President Papadakis
Editorial Board
Issue date: 10/8/04 Section: Ed-Op
President Papadakis,
We, the student newspaper of this University, write to you to ask for your help with and to make you aware of the growing feeling of student apathy. It is not necessarily because the students are naturally uncaring about events in and around campus, but mostly the blame can be put on a depreciation of communication skills between the University and the students that it serves.
Two important events took place this week in University: Convocation and the yearly release of crime statistics. While each had its own positives and negatives, they both were examples of the growing problem of student apathy. Convocation, which is the initiation of the school year and an awards ceremony for students, had a majority attendance of faculty with few students in the crowd and staff sitting well into the second section. The crime report remains a lackluster source of information on campus crime that borders on violating the Clery Act. What is the connection that exists? Students, in general, did not care about either event.
Convocation is supposed to be a University-wide event, where newly accepted freshman can receive a greeting from the administration and bless their efforts in the upcoming years. However, when the auditorium has a plethora of faculty that takes up many of the available seats, getting the students involved and making them feel welcome becomes a daunting, difficult-to-accomplish task. The students would have been packed into the location and treated like cattle. Did the organizers of the event really expect that the room could hold all 2,200 incoming freshmen, as well as anyone else who could attend?
The annual report on campus crime, while statistically showing a reduction in offenses over the past year, is a prime example of withholding vital information to the community. Unfortunately, the disposition of the incident is supposed to be a detailed report of what happened, as to alert students of possible recurring problems on campus and encourage them to be aware. Instead, as usual, the report only put the type of call in the disposition section, such as "assault" or "theft". If students were given the chance to be more aware of their surroundings and participate more in community crime watch, they would logically begin to care more about the city that surrounds them and be more active in its development. When information about an incident is withheld for no given reason, it can seem to the students that the newspaper and administration do not care enough about the incidents listed. We understand that you, Mr. President, care about the University deeply and care about its future as a successful academic institution. For instance, we greatly appreciate and applaud Resource Day in the Grand Court where students could easily discuss financial issues with Student Resource Center personnel. Please, though, understand that being a successful school does not mean pumping out the 4.0 grade average students.
We, the student newspaper of this University, write to you to ask for your help with and to make you aware of the growing feeling of student apathy. It is not necessarily because the students are naturally uncaring about events in and around campus, but mostly the blame can be put on a depreciation of communication skills between the University and the students that it serves.
Two important events took place this week in University: Convocation and the yearly release of crime statistics. While each had its own positives and negatives, they both were examples of the growing problem of student apathy. Convocation, which is the initiation of the school year and an awards ceremony for students, had a majority attendance of faculty with few students in the crowd and staff sitting well into the second section. The crime report remains a lackluster source of information on campus crime that borders on violating the Clery Act. What is the connection that exists? Students, in general, did not care about either event.
Convocation is supposed to be a University-wide event, where newly accepted freshman can receive a greeting from the administration and bless their efforts in the upcoming years. However, when the auditorium has a plethora of faculty that takes up many of the available seats, getting the students involved and making them feel welcome becomes a daunting, difficult-to-accomplish task. The students would have been packed into the location and treated like cattle. Did the organizers of the event really expect that the room could hold all 2,200 incoming freshmen, as well as anyone else who could attend?
The annual report on campus crime, while statistically showing a reduction in offenses over the past year, is a prime example of withholding vital information to the community. Unfortunately, the disposition of the incident is supposed to be a detailed report of what happened, as to alert students of possible recurring problems on campus and encourage them to be aware. Instead, as usual, the report only put the type of call in the disposition section, such as "assault" or "theft". If students were given the chance to be more aware of their surroundings and participate more in community crime watch, they would logically begin to care more about the city that surrounds them and be more active in its development. When information about an incident is withheld for no given reason, it can seem to the students that the newspaper and administration do not care enough about the incidents listed. We understand that you, Mr. President, care about the University deeply and care about its future as a successful academic institution. For instance, we greatly appreciate and applaud Resource Day in the Grand Court where students could easily discuss financial issues with Student Resource Center personnel. Please, though, understand that being a successful school does not mean pumping out the 4.0 grade average students.
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