This week, the Dartmouth community witnessed a rare and exciting spark of student interest in the affairs of the College's administration. In response to the recent announcement that acting Dean of the College Sylvia Spears would not seek the permanent deanship, a group of students released a petition calling for "greater transparency" surrounding Dean Spears' decision not to join the applicant pool ("Students question dean selection process," Jan. 19). The students also advocated for the expansion of the selection committee to include "additional representatives, from diverse backgrounds and communities."
This student-driven campaign is a refreshing and welcome development in the relationship between students and administrators. Students often seem deeply apathetic about changes at the College, despite the importance of these decisions to our Dartmouth experience. Specifically, there is a general indifference, if not ignorance, regarding whom the administration hires and fires. The pro-Spears petition with more than 600 signatures to date demonstrates that students can take a proactive interest in the administration's policies and decisions. We applaud the initiative displayed by the students behind the campaign.
The mere act of signing a petition, however, falls short of a meaningful engagement with the initiative. It is too easy for students to add their names to a list without committing to the cause that it supports. Students who truly wish to see improvements in the selection process must therefore substantiate their signatures with continued action and dialogue.
In particular, students must remain firm in their call for transparency. The College's administration has regularly failed to conduct its affairs openly, but too often its opacity is greeted with student indifference. The administration has little incentive to encourage discourse with the student body when all attempts at conversation remain one-sided. The petition is a promising sign that the student body may finally be prepared to monitor and respond to the College's administrative actions, and thus hold it to higher standards.
The campaign's call for greater student involvement and diversity on the selection committee also demonstrates a much-needed awareness about the importance of the dean of the College position. The dean, perhaps more than any other College official, has direct responsibility for all facets of student life. Spears' successor will make decisions that will profoundly affect the entire Dartmouth community. The importance of this position necessitates input from all corners of campus. Now, more than ever, is the time for students to shed their short-term attention spans and begin taking administrative issues seriously. The student-led campaign to introduce greater transparency and student participation into the selection process is a step in the right direction.