Spring Break
Opinions of students should count
Adam Roberts
Issue date: 8/21/08 Section: Opinion
Now, it is possible that modular math is more effective, and maybe a tobacco ban will be good for campus. That's not my point.
I want to know when students will have some sort of effective voice in shaping university policy.
It has been a long time since we did. In 2004, ASG was in need of reform and was dragging its feet. Instead of working through the democratic process, former Chancellor John A. White created a task force to "suggest" changes to ASG for the board of trustees to impose. The task force did include a few students, but none of them were elected, and the task force met privately. The task force wrote a new ASG Constitution and sent it to the board.
Just like with the tobacco ban, town hall meetings occurred and the constitution was put up for a vote. These were just for show. Chancellor White made it clear that the constitution would be brought to the trustees no matter what the results of the town hall meetings or the student "vote" were.
The elected ASG student senators voted on a "No Confidence" resolution to express the widespread student outrage about the chancellor's actions. White decided to simply remove the resolution from the ballot and to change the date of the election. The final constitution - the one in place today - gave the chancellor unilateral control over ASG, and he described their roles as "advisory."
White's administration would not even allow students to discuss the constitution. When a ratification bill was brought before ASG last March, Patrick Monroney, the director for student involvement and leadership, disrupted the session and interrupted senators on the floor.
UA students are adults. This isn't high school. We elect mayors, governors and presidents. Surely we can be trusted to help run our school.
I'm confident that Chancellor Gearhart will work hard to create a new, positive atmosphere at the UA, where the administration and the students work together to shape the future of Arkansas. He has already agreed to regular meetings with our new ASG president, Carter Ford.
I'm sure that President Ford will be a forceful advocate for the democratic process and will hold Gearhart to his pledge of "putting students first."
Adam Roberts will write a weekly column for the Traveler. Roberts can be reached at adamcr@uark.edu.
I want to know when students will have some sort of effective voice in shaping university policy.
It has been a long time since we did. In 2004, ASG was in need of reform and was dragging its feet. Instead of working through the democratic process, former Chancellor John A. White created a task force to "suggest" changes to ASG for the board of trustees to impose. The task force did include a few students, but none of them were elected, and the task force met privately. The task force wrote a new ASG Constitution and sent it to the board.
Just like with the tobacco ban, town hall meetings occurred and the constitution was put up for a vote. These were just for show. Chancellor White made it clear that the constitution would be brought to the trustees no matter what the results of the town hall meetings or the student "vote" were.
The elected ASG student senators voted on a "No Confidence" resolution to express the widespread student outrage about the chancellor's actions. White decided to simply remove the resolution from the ballot and to change the date of the election. The final constitution - the one in place today - gave the chancellor unilateral control over ASG, and he described their roles as "advisory."
White's administration would not even allow students to discuss the constitution. When a ratification bill was brought before ASG last March, Patrick Monroney, the director for student involvement and leadership, disrupted the session and interrupted senators on the floor.
UA students are adults. This isn't high school. We elect mayors, governors and presidents. Surely we can be trusted to help run our school.
I'm confident that Chancellor Gearhart will work hard to create a new, positive atmosphere at the UA, where the administration and the students work together to shape the future of Arkansas. He has already agreed to regular meetings with our new ASG president, Carter Ford.
I'm sure that President Ford will be a forceful advocate for the democratic process and will hold Gearhart to his pledge of "putting students first."
Adam Roberts will write a weekly column for the Traveler. Roberts can be reached at adamcr@uark.edu.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Becky
posted 8/21/08 @ 12:29 PM CST
This is a well written article. I hope the new chancellor takes the student voice seriously.
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