Conventional wisdom on this Opinion page, and in the Dartmouth community in general, has recently been rooted in anti-bureaucracy, anti-administration rhetoric -- and no more so than in the recent debates over budget cuts. But in the wake of the recent layoffs, a defense of the the bureaucratic system at large may be in order.
From a student perspective, the College can easily be broken into separate categories of people and jobs. The Board of Trustees, President Wright and other senior administrators exist as impersonal leadership figureheads, rarely seen outside of official functions, but constantly plotting the future of Dartmouth behind closed doors. The faculty represents students' closest link to the greater institution, and the heart of the College as a whole -- many of us came here because of Dartmouth's top-tier professors.
But behind the scenes, an entire army works tirelessly to maintain Dartmouth as we see it. Much maligned for being plagued by worthless bureaucracy, these support systems extend from Dartmouth Dining Services to academic department administrations to the Hopkins Center. Unlike our award-winning faculty and much-praised leadership, members of this large group, even those in jobs that directly connect to the quality of student life, rarely get the credit they deserve.
Support staffers and administrative assistants hold sway over numerous vital aspects of the Dartmouth experience, but many see them as replaceable. The argument goes that budget cuts are the perfect opportunity to eliminate waste and redundancy, and that nothing substantial would change if some staff jobs were eliminated.
Such an assertion completely misrepresents the situation, because our allegedly superfluous staffers are actually the ones who hold the keys to many of the College's most important programs. Want to go on a Foreign Study Program next fall? Good luck without the help of staffers in the Off-Campus Programs Office. How about an internship this summer? No way Career Services functions without mid-level personnel. And do you really think that most professors, especially in the larger departments, could handle putting together class schedules and dealing with student issues alone?
The problem lies in how we interact with these College staffers on a daily basis. When everything runs smoothly, students barely acknowledge that administrative support even exists -- let alone that its contribution to Dartmouth is significant. Only when problems arise do we vent our frustrations on assistants and middle-men. When we recieve a $50 parking ticket, we complain about the fine and send an angry e-mail to Parking and Transportation Services. When a particular class gets capped, we direct our anger at administrative assistants in the Registrar's office.
Some have also called for the elimination of parts of campus life that many students never see. Entire departments, like the Office of Pluralism and Leadership and the Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity, work in a certain vacuum outside of the average student's sphere of awareness, and deans and assistant deans abound throughout the inner workings of the College. Unfortunately, these positions arise in conversation almost exclusively when students are questioning their purpose.
Of all the areas to cut back on during this financial crisis, superfluous staffing seems to be the consensus choice. I know I would not be in favor of reducing financial aid or making additional cuts to the budgets of academic departments. However, the reflex to eliminate positions from these other areas should never be automatic. Dartmouth staff members, everyone from dean to DDS worker, advisor to assistant, remain vital parts of -- not impediments to -- advancing and improving the College. They do not deserve to be laid off simply as a knee-jerk reaction to poor endowment results.
Dartmouth as we know it, rich with academic options, foreign study chances, arts and intellectual experiences, cannot survive without qualified staff at all levels. While cutting "worthless bureaucracy" remains the popular way to ease our financial strain, we should be wary of the potential consequences.
