Last month, a prestigious private university announced plans to significantly change its dining plan. The majority of the student body did not welcome the news and voted against the changes in a referendum. As a result, the administration has addressed their concerns, adjusted the proposals and incorporated student ideas into the final plan. The school in question? Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
It's a familiar story, but one that played out rather differently here in Hanover. Unlike our tech-y peers at MIT, we were left in the dark when our new dining plan was being formulated and were not informed until it had been approved by the Board of Trustees . The student body certainly did not have the opportunity to vote on the measure or influence the decision-making process in any way. Granted, President Kim has now acknowledged some student concerns about the plan, but there have been no guarantees that changes will be made or even that there will be a formal channel for making our views heard.
Although the new dining plan might appear to be a petty issue, the way the change was implemented reflects a deeper problem with the current system. The fact that College administrators have simply handed down contentious decisions that students can do nothing about sets a troubling precedent. If our powerlessness in the policy making process is left unaddressed, we risk allowing the administration to unilaterally implement more far-reaching changes to our academic and social life in the future.
To be fair, the administration has agreed to rethink some of the policies that have faced staunch student opposition, such as the closing of the river docks. However, acting retroactively and reversing decisions is a hassle for everyone and risks ensnaring issues in a slow, opaque bureaucratic process. It would be much easier if the administration allowed students to actively participate in the policy-making process, so that our concerns are addressed up front. Student Assembly does send representatives to sit in on policy committees and provide student input on issues, yet the student members are unable to vote on these committees and may not even be kept up-to-date with the latest developments, as was the case with the dining plan change.
If the administration truly wants to involve students in the College's affairs, it is not enough to simply give us the chance to voice our concerns. Too often, College administrators have brushed aside student ideas and are unwilling to honestly consider our views when shaping policies. True student participation will only come when we can have someone to represent our interests on the decision-making table. Having a Dartmouth student serve in a similar capacity on the Board of Trustees may be impractical, but there is little harm in the administration being more democratic and giving students a vote on smaller committees. If anything, providing us with some substantive power to influence College decisions will likely encourage more students to be engaged in the issues facing the school.
Student Assembly can also play a role in further empowering Dartmouth students. At colleges across the country from the University of Chicago to Princeton to the University of California the student government organizes referendums that allow students to vote on issues and policy changes affecting the campus. Yet here at Dartmouth, the only mention of a referendum occurs when this newspaper reports on those passed by students at other schools. Granted, most college administrations are not bound by these referendums. However, it is difficult to ignore such a formal and public assessment of student views and the results are therefore almost always taken into serious consideration. Even if administrators are strongly at odds with students, they can at least get a clearer view of the overall student sentiment and forge a middle ground more easily. The dining plan change has shown all too well the disconnect between what the College thinks students want and what we truly want.
When the New Hampshire legislature considered preventing out-of-state college students from voting in local elections, Dartmouth students instantly condemned the bill as a campaign to disenfranchise students and actively took part in the effort to make sure it was defeated. The fight to empower students is not over though. In many ways, students are still disenfranchised here on campus, and much work is needed to make Dartmouth a more democratic institution where our voices are heard.
