Before I leave to spend a year at Oxford, I wanted to say a few words to the Wesleyan community about some of the things I have been a part of here and care about.
First, I think Wesleyan needs to remember that this a liberal arts school and as such must emphasize academic achievement in all three general education areas. Creating more below-introductory-level classes in the sciences undermines the purpose of a liberal arts education as every student should be proficient in all three general education areas. Anyone who does not want to take courses in what comprises a third of the curriculum should not go to a liberal arts school like Wesleyan.
The University needs to begin implementing programs so that the NSMs get their equal share of campus-wide recognition and attention. For example, there are no University-wide (non-departmental) lectures in the sciences. All major University lectures have been for speakers dealing with politics. In addition to diversifying the topics of lectures, the creation of a science week with University-sponsored events to celebrate and spark interest in the sciences would be useful. More importantly, Admissions needs to do a better job attracting and accepting students interested in the sciences because there needs to be a more science majors. It would also be nice if the Administration began to get the ball rolling on the construction of the new science building. The science departments are great here! The problem is that it is Wesleyan’s best-kept secret.
Secondly, I wanted to say that students should really write for the Argus. It’s an amazing experience to interview the campus’s movers-and-shakers and to practice writing focused, clear and terse pieces. It’s a shame in a school with so many English majors that Argus editors often find themselves unable to find writers to report the stories. Argus editors are hard-working and commit a great deal of time to publishing twice a week (which is more regularly than papers at peer schools). If more people were willing to write articles (in addition to the amazing group who wrote this semester) coverage would have been even better and timelier. For its part, the Argus should make a better effort at recruitment, interact more with its writers and give all of its writers tape recorders to allow them to quote verbatim more accurately.
Finally, I wanted to address the great amount of ill-will around campus that every so often rears its ugly head (like recently in the Wespeaks). We go to a small school where anyone (even President Bennet) is easy to get in touch with and everyone is a smart, talented, and personable individual (or at least is supposed to be if Admissions did its job). Don’t be so quick to suspect peers, professors or administrators of having ulterior motives or for acting purposefully malicious. I understand that being naïve is not a virtue, but I think we treat our fellow Wesleyaners with more respect.
While I am truly excited to go abroad next year (I have never left the country before), I also cannot wait to come back to Wes. I hope Wesleyan has a good year next year and I wish the best of luck to the graduating class of 2004.
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