A couple of weeks ago, the Student Assembly requested a fundamental, democratic right: that students of Dartmouth, particularly seniors, be granted the right to vote for the election of new Trustees to the Board of Dartmouth College. Why? Because Trustees ultimately define the future of everyday student life on this campus. Aren't current students the most informed as to what students want? Upon their entreaty, how were the students answered? With indifference. Chairman of the Board Stephen Bosworth flat out rejected the proposal, stating that the seniors could wait a year.
What a disillusioning announcement. The school's condescending tone, exemplifying its total lack of confidence in students and their abilities, was shocking. The decision gave me a lot to think about -- the campus culture, so-called student apathy, and the lack of student influence. In the end, all this led me to the same conclusion: Right now, the Dartmouth administration has a serious leadership problem.
In any professional organization -- from private corporations to the armed forces -- good leaders realize the importance of two very basic principles: trust and information. You have to trust the people around you, if you want to create a comfortable and enthusiastic environment full of motivated individuals, and you have to give them as much information as possible in order for them to perform to their potential.
Let's evaluate our current administration's leadership in this light: Does the College trust the students? Let's start with student input regarding important College decisions. Student input is largely confined to various College committees. These committees deal with all aspects of the Dartmouth community, from computing and finance to off-campus programs. These committees, made up of representatives from the faculty, the administration and the student body, are important because they propose and develop solutions to campus problems.
In the past, students neither knew who represented their interests in these committees, nor what each committee dealt with. Currently, the College is displaying a measure of leadership by restructuring the College committee appointment process. The goal is to improve the way the students are chosen, as well as improving the exchange of information between students and the College committees, with the Student Assembly as a natural mediator.
However, the leadership is absolutely lacking when the College fails to address the more fundamental issue of the student's role in the decision-making process: the breadth of input. How many students are on each committee? On average, one to two. Out of how many total committee members? Anywhere from seven to 40. And, yet, the minuscule student representation is treated as a non-existent issue!
Is this how a learning institution in a democracy should work? Clearly, no.
Now, let's continue with the lack of information: Does the College inform the students? After all, discussion of many issues should not be contained to just a committee, limited in size, but should rather be extended to all students. Case in point: the future of the Greek system. The administration is obviously not satisfied with the Greek system, and they are doing something. The problem is just that no student knows what the College is up to! Most students neither know who represents their interests in this matter or even what committee has jurisdiction.
When the College is making decisions about our future social life, is it demanding too much that we be informed about what is going on, or maybe even be allowed to take part in the discussion??!! I mean, it's our student life, so how about we participate in defining the needs and the solutions? If the College is serious about improving the social life on campus, why does it exclude from large parts of the process those who must play an integral role? The social life of Dartmouth has been and will always be defined by the students themselves. If the College wants to improve the Greek social scene, it needs to include the entire student body in the discussion. Let the student body itself voice its opinions about the Greek social scene, and let the students come up with solutions. Nobody can tell students what social life is best for themselves.
The administration complains about student apathy and lack of student involvement. But how can students be mobilized if they perceive their input is not respected? It seems the message being sent down from the administration is: "You are the few and the brightest at one of the best academic institutions in the world, and you ought to be proud of your exceptional achievements -- BUT we don't trust you to be mature and responsible enough to make decisions affecting your own everyday lives." Not only are we students deprived of the power to make a difference, but we don't even know who has that power. What role can we possibly play?
This column is a plea to the administration. Keep us informed. Ask us what we think. Let us try to help. Trust us. We might surprise you.
