Collegian Weekly: Students miss opportunities to shape Hillsdale
Issue date: 3/6/08 Section: Opinion
Students should take advantage of their many chances to choose representatives, speakers and winners on campus.
That's tougher than it sounds. After all, it's easy to justify studying for a pressing midterm instead of trudging up the hill through the sludge to put in a vote for Professor of the Year or Senior Man and Woman. No one denies the million and one demands on a student's schedule.
What happens on campus matters, and the small choices we're given play out in a bigger way than we might first think.
But first, it's important to look at the many choices we have, and the ways we sometimes have failed to capitalize on them.
Seniors can go to the class meeting and affect major class decisions.
Nevertheless, the last meeting was not well attended.
Students can pick a senior man/woman. But few students were nominated. And the voting was finally extended because so few people participated - in part, because of confusion about who could vote and where the voting occurred.
We can choose representatives at Student Federation. But how many people have actually looked at the candidates and voted?
Saga meetings to gather more student input and gain suggestions haven't attracted many participants, even though almost everyone complains occasionally.
Students can also talk to administrators and campus decision-makers, who welcome, even crave, student input.
These are just a few of the ways we can exert influence on campus. If we'd like to see circumstances change but don't do anything to begin that change, we're just blowing steam. And it seems, amid the heat of classes and extracurricular activities, we're all a bit gassy. It's time to clear the fog a bit.
Most importantly, students must realize the importance of participation. The campus is a community we belong to, and everything affects everyone.
For administrators and campus governing bodies, acknowledging the importance of our decisions means keeping us informed.
That's tougher than it sounds. After all, it's easy to justify studying for a pressing midterm instead of trudging up the hill through the sludge to put in a vote for Professor of the Year or Senior Man and Woman. No one denies the million and one demands on a student's schedule.
What happens on campus matters, and the small choices we're given play out in a bigger way than we might first think.
But first, it's important to look at the many choices we have, and the ways we sometimes have failed to capitalize on them.
Seniors can go to the class meeting and affect major class decisions.
Nevertheless, the last meeting was not well attended.
Students can pick a senior man/woman. But few students were nominated. And the voting was finally extended because so few people participated - in part, because of confusion about who could vote and where the voting occurred.
We can choose representatives at Student Federation. But how many people have actually looked at the candidates and voted?
Saga meetings to gather more student input and gain suggestions haven't attracted many participants, even though almost everyone complains occasionally.
Students can also talk to administrators and campus decision-makers, who welcome, even crave, student input.
These are just a few of the ways we can exert influence on campus. If we'd like to see circumstances change but don't do anything to begin that change, we're just blowing steam. And it seems, amid the heat of classes and extracurricular activities, we're all a bit gassy. It's time to clear the fog a bit.
Most importantly, students must realize the importance of participation. The campus is a community we belong to, and everything affects everyone.
For administrators and campus governing bodies, acknowledging the importance of our decisions means keeping us informed.
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