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DECEMBER 3, 1999 — THE DECREE — PAGE 5
Student demonstration was outstanding
[)ear Editor:
Outstanding!! That is the best
to characterize what took
[ place on Nov. 22 here at Wes
leyan. Outstanding because it
brought together many different
areas of the collcgc. Outstanding
bccausc il wasn’t loud or out of
control. Outstanding because it
was the biggest gathering of stu
dents for an event 1 have seen in a
while. And finally. Outstanding
because it showed that a lot of
students really do care about this
school.
It was great to see so many
students not only attend, but so
many take advantage of the op
portunity to discuss what was on
their mind. It was equally great
to have so many of the faculty,
staff, and administration attend to
see what students did have to say.
It was also wonderful to see as
one speaker put it, “so much en
ergy” being displayed in the form
of student activitism.
However, now comes the time
to see what kind of commitment
the students are really prepared
to make to get these questions
answered and issues addressed. It
is now time to roll up the sleeves
and to get the ole’ hands dirty. It
is time to do the work. And so, 1
ask. who is willing to step up and
get to work?
Thankfully, Tony (Morrone)
and Katrina (Lewis) did the rough
pan Ivcau.sc liirough their efforts,
the cover was taken off the pile
of questions and issues students
have here at Wesleyan. However,
iliis pile w ill not go away simply
by sayiiij: to the administration,
"these are our concerns, fix
Ihcni.” And I don't think that is
what Tony and Katrina had m
mind when they did this.
However, given that they are
but two of many, many students
(as well as being Seniors, which
means they won’t be here next
year), who else out there is will
ing to get involved and do the
dirty work?
Just as Dr. Tyrone Bledsoe
pointed out in his remarks, there
are avenues available currently for
students to address their concerns
and work on fixing the problems.
In some areas, the avenues
haven’t been utilized in the past.
Others have been only partially
utilized. Specific examples would
be efforts that have been made to
get student input on such topics
as programining in the Dunn Cen
ter, programming on campus,
food service, and student govern
ment.
Jan Zarr has attempted a vari
ety of methods seeking student
input on programming at the
Dunn Center and gotten nowhere.
Kevin Hughes tried frequently to
get more student input last year
on progranmiing through Cam
pus Activities Board as well as
other methods, to no avail. Todd
Meiners and Dr. Bledsoe sought
student input on food service is
sues last year with the food ser
vice committee and were met with
lukewarm response.
Finally, SGA has in the last
two years made numerous at
tempts to get student input on
things with little success. Last
year’s SGA President Justin
Renville tried a number of times
to get students involved in areas
ranging from suggesting program
ming to seeking greater student
involvement in evaluating the
SGA Constitution. This year’s
President, Abdula Foula, and the
rest of the Executive Team have
tried mightily to get more stu
dents involved in SGA and the
SGA Senate, with very little re
sponse. And these are only a
handful of examples.
Now, don’t misunderstand
what’s being said here. What took
place on that Monday was defi
nitely good. But it will only be
great if there is follow through
and that follow through will re
quire work. Students should hold
responsible parties accountable
for that which is their responsi
bility (and this was reiterated by
several different administration
members at the rally). Questions
should be asked when they arise.
Information that doesn't sound
credible should be researched un
til the information is verified or
until the correct information is
found.
But to accomplish these tasks
requires commitment and effort,
and not just from two students.
To achieve the kind of results that
are the goal of the Proposal for a
Better Wesleyan, students are go
ing to have to be willing to make
the time to meet discuss, and fol
low-up with those responsible
parties. And keep on them! Not
just chat once about an issue and
expect it fixed, but show there is
determination to accomplish
whatever the particular goal is.
For example, as Wesleyan
President John White pointed out
in one of his emails that weekend
prior to the rally, there are three
students elected as Board of
Trustees members. So then how
is it that the students did not hear
anything about the Charter School
Deal until Nov. 15, three weeks
after the Board of Trustees meet
ing? In fairness to the author of
that email, Kyle Guechler, stu
dent-elected board member from
Letters to
the Editor
last year, that was the first corre
spondence that I have seen in two
and a half years here at Wesleyan
from any of the student-elected
board members.
However, the point here is that
before the students can go de
manding more representation on
the Board of Trustees, those re
sources that are available to stu
dents, in this case the three board
seats, must be better utilized.
Therefore, students must start
holding those three elected repre
sentatives more accountable for
their actions. It must be asked of
them how is it that students often
don’t know what is going on with
the Board of Trustees.
But doing that will not simply
be a matter of “Hey, you have to
do a better job.” It is going to
require talking to them, address
ing the concern, knowing what’s
going on with the Board of Trust
ees, and following up to ensure
they are keeping students in
formed. And that is just one of
the issues.
There is now a lot of work to
be done. But it shouldn’t just be
up to two students to get it done.
Tony and Katrina aren’t the only
concerned ones here either; the
rally indicated that. But thanks to
their efforts, the administration
(and others) here at Wesleyan are
now listening with both ears.
Therefore, now is the time to get
to work. And it will be work. It
will require time, effort, and com
mitment.
It will require more than just
Tony and Katrina (and other
members of the class of 2000)
because when graduation is fin
ished in May, this will not be fin
ished. It will, with the help of
others, be a work in progress. And
more importantly, it will be there
to show that Tony, Katrina, and
others did not act on a whiin.
So, in the end this all boils
down to the same question I asked
at the beginning: who is willing
to step up and get to work? Who
is going to help?
For me, my answer lies in the
fact that 1 am rolling up my
sleeves. What about you?
J. Michael Hoppe
Finally, students
coming together
Dear Editor:
WOW! How can I resist not
getting in on this wonderful ex
change of Emailing!
1 feel it is about time that the
student body has rallied behind
something. In the past, it has been
very difficult to get a large por
tion of the students to gather for
anything. I am ver> aware ol this
because as an Resident Assistant.
1 tried to get students to pailici-
pate-in activities for two years,
but it just didn't happen.
Finally it appears that the stu
dent body is coming together. It
is unfoilunatc that the President
was not in attendance, but it re
ally doesn't matter. With the help
of Tony Morrone and KaTrina
Lewis. Monday the 22nd was an
interesting ‘■appointment” with
the administrators.
It appears that Wesleyan s
problems have gone on for too
long and finally will be addressed
by the heail and soul of the school,
the siiulenis'.'.
"Long Live the Revolution I"
David Capohianc(»
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