It’s that time of year.
With temperatures dropping, malls full of crazed shoppers, Festivus and the scent of cinnamon found everywhere, you know they’re coming.
Finals are looming.
But procrastinate with me for a moment and reflect on Fall ’09 at Conn.
From my perspective, the biggest issues this semester were the Freeman t-shirt fiasco, concerns for women’s safety, lack of funding for the New York Times Readership Program, limited bandwidth, the bathroom peeper and the opening of the new fitness center.
Freeman t-shirt fiasco: I think this was taken care of swiftly and tactfully through a letter of apology from Res Ed and comments by the SGA Chair of Diversity and Equity, Javier Mijares Cisneros, which prevented this from becoming another “Lobster Gate” (side note, can we not use that term anymore?) in terms of campus tension. Hopefully we can learn how our actions and words affect others, and be more conscious.
Concerns for women’s safety: Stemming from a variety of different frustrations on campus, including lack of available funds for the Women’s Center and concern about the college’s sexual assault prevention environment, a letter was sent by a number of students to Deans Briddell, Cardwell, Bengochea and Garcia which met with a 2,000 word letter response printed in the online edition of the Voice. The first of several conversations has occured, but the issue has not yet been resolved.
Readership Program: It’s been a long ride, and it’s not over yet. An Above Current Level Request (ACL) has been submitted for review by the Priorites, Planning and Budget Committee (PPBC). At this point, I don’t care where the funding comes from, as long as the program is funded. Corey Testa and Teddy Fisher, along with Professor Borer and administrators, have been instrumental in finding solutions. I hope that when I come to visit Conn years after graduation, I will still see students reading the NY Times in the dining halls.
Bandwidth: As I wrote in my previous editorial, I think this is a great example of what students can accomplish when we band together on an issue and show the college what’s really important to us. I hope this issue will be explored in more depth next semester to see where to go next. (Especially because Lee Hisle was right – even with the increased bandwidth, we’re still consistently maxing out, likely from online videos and Skype.)
Bathroom Peeper: I have no words for this other than that was the creepiest thing and served as a great reminder that Conn is still part of the “real world.” I also hope this will make the administration closely examine hiring procedures and the emergency communication system.
Fitness Center: It’s fantastic. I think the entire campus can enjoy the building in one way or another, whether we use it every day, or just appreciate its appearance and commitment to energy efficiency. (I’m most definitely one of the latter.) The fact that it was funded entirely through donations and was part of the college’s Strategic Plan made me even happier. Check out the Strategic Plan’s website to see what’s coming next.
This is our final issue of the Voice for the semester, and it’s been quite a ride.
With the launch of our first independent website in over eight years, greater use of social networking sites to share our stories and connect with readers, several guest speakers and a reevaluation of our purpose to the campus community, it’s been a whirlwind.
I’d like to personally thank all of the fantastic editors, writers, copyeditors, business staff and couriers who have made this semester productive, and most of all, fun. It’s amazing to think this is only the beginning.
Join us next semester and get ready for more controversy, networking opportunities with journalism experts, Journalism Day (J-Day) “reloaded” and our print edition: the result of long weekend nights in Cro 215 full of caffeine, loud music, red editor’s pens and Starbursts.
