After announcing a plan to affiliate WESU with an NPR affiliate, President Bennet gave students and members of the community who work at WESU a week to come up with an alternative proposal. While this seemed like an unreasonable timeframe, students put together a lengthy proposal to allow WESU to maintain control over the station. Monday night, WESU and Bennet met in an open forum to discuss the proposal. Students and community members were able to voice their opinions over the future of the radio station. The Administration, however, has not brought the issue of WESU to the broader Wesleyan community, except with Bennet’s wespeak outlining his proposal. There have not been any campus e-mails or WSA polls. WESU directors took the initiative to broadcast the meeting live, which should clue Bennet into students’ and Middletown residents’ investment and interest in the station.
This issue echoes past campus controversies and brings up questions about how the Administration and students approach and react to large changes. Throughout the process of banning chalking, President Bennet formally addressed concerns through campus-wide e-mails. Although these messages seemed impersonal, they represented the University’s concern with keeping the community informed. Yet the proposed changes to WESU have not had such treatment, falsely presuming that this issue is not important to all. To gauge student opinion on gender neutral housing, the WSA offered students the chance to vote on the issue. The unprecedented voter turnout suggests such polls should be conducted for all important changes the Administration proposes. Such a poll was not offered, however, in regards to WESU’s possible affiliation with NPR.
The haphazard handling of substantial changes in University policy is reflected in the results that went directly against student suggestions and desires. Despite relentless efforts by student activists to reach agreements on chalking and program houses—with gender neutral housing still hanging in the balance—the ultimate decision-makers left student efforts inconsequntial. After all, chalking was banned and program houses are struggling for survival. The process of decision making, as well as the spread and sharing of information, is flawed.
As this issue affects the greater community, open events such as last night’s forum are crucial before decisions are made, not after. Change is inevitable and necessary at our University, but with each major decision the entire community should be consulted, not just those with a direct or obvious connection. After all, every student has an interest in how the University is represented, whether it is through chalking or NPR affiliation.
Leave a Reply