2008 Woodie Awards
Letters to the Editor: Bravo to students speaking out
Dr. Peter Schultz
Issue date: 10/31/04 Section: Viewpoint
- Page 1 of 1
To the Editor:
It is gratifying to see that there is life at Assumption College. A protest! Yes, a protest at Assumption College. Now that is different and much needed.
I arrived at Assumption College in 1989 and it was then a much less angry place than it is now. The students then were not angry at all or, at least, not nearly as angry as they are now. And, finally, now, students are expressing and exhibiting their anger, apparently over the alcohol policies but, more generally, over the repressive character of Residential Life and its rules and regulations. This should surprise no one but it probably will because, too often, we, the faculty, are so far removed from the lives of our students, from their feelings, from their opinions, and the regulations they are subjected to, that they are virtual strangers to us and their world an alien place.
For example, how many know that whenever a student publishes anything in the Provoc with a negative bias to it and directed at Student Life or Res. Life that that student is contacted by someone in Student Life and "invited" for coffee to discuss the publication? Having objected to this policy to the Vice President for Student Life, I was told that it is, and I quote, "age appropriate." When I suggested that the first amendment protects the freedom of speech and of the press, I was informed that the first amendment does not apply to private institutions. This is true, of course, of the first amendment itself but not of the principles that inform that amendment. It has seemed to me for some time now that the major purpose of Student Life and Res. Life is to modify student behavior as if this was a finishing school or an experiment prepared by B.F. Skinner and not a liberal arts college.
A liberal arts college is or should be one that prides itself on encouraging students to think, to argue, to express themselves, to become opinionated, even to be obnoxious if necessary. Faculty complain all the time that students do not participate in the classroom enough, that they are reluctant to speak up. But it is important to recognize that the messages the students get from Student Life and Res. Life encourage this kind of behavior. "Speak up and speak out and we will 'invite' you for coffee to talk about your transgressions!" The students know all too well what being "invited" for coffee means. And I do too, as in the midst of my email debate a while ago with the Vice President for Student Life I was invited for coffee. I refused! I have and will encourage students to do the same thing. In the words of Nancy Reagan: "JUST SAY NO!!!"
Some may see "apathy" at Assumption College but I see anger. And now, finally, I see life. Bravo to those students who held the protest over the silly alcohol policies in place and bravo to those students who have expressed their anger in the Provoc. Keep it up and maybe we can change the motto of the school from "Learn. Achieve. Contribute" to "Act Up. Speak Out. Resist."
Dr. Peter Schultz
Department of Political Science
It is gratifying to see that there is life at Assumption College. A protest! Yes, a protest at Assumption College. Now that is different and much needed.
I arrived at Assumption College in 1989 and it was then a much less angry place than it is now. The students then were not angry at all or, at least, not nearly as angry as they are now. And, finally, now, students are expressing and exhibiting their anger, apparently over the alcohol policies but, more generally, over the repressive character of Residential Life and its rules and regulations. This should surprise no one but it probably will because, too often, we, the faculty, are so far removed from the lives of our students, from their feelings, from their opinions, and the regulations they are subjected to, that they are virtual strangers to us and their world an alien place.
For example, how many know that whenever a student publishes anything in the Provoc with a negative bias to it and directed at Student Life or Res. Life that that student is contacted by someone in Student Life and "invited" for coffee to discuss the publication? Having objected to this policy to the Vice President for Student Life, I was told that it is, and I quote, "age appropriate." When I suggested that the first amendment protects the freedom of speech and of the press, I was informed that the first amendment does not apply to private institutions. This is true, of course, of the first amendment itself but not of the principles that inform that amendment. It has seemed to me for some time now that the major purpose of Student Life and Res. Life is to modify student behavior as if this was a finishing school or an experiment prepared by B.F. Skinner and not a liberal arts college.
A liberal arts college is or should be one that prides itself on encouraging students to think, to argue, to express themselves, to become opinionated, even to be obnoxious if necessary. Faculty complain all the time that students do not participate in the classroom enough, that they are reluctant to speak up. But it is important to recognize that the messages the students get from Student Life and Res. Life encourage this kind of behavior. "Speak up and speak out and we will 'invite' you for coffee to talk about your transgressions!" The students know all too well what being "invited" for coffee means. And I do too, as in the midst of my email debate a while ago with the Vice President for Student Life I was invited for coffee. I refused! I have and will encourage students to do the same thing. In the words of Nancy Reagan: "JUST SAY NO!!!"
Some may see "apathy" at Assumption College but I see anger. And now, finally, I see life. Bravo to those students who held the protest over the silly alcohol policies in place and bravo to those students who have expressed their anger in the Provoc. Keep it up and maybe we can change the motto of the school from "Learn. Achieve. Contribute" to "Act Up. Speak Out. Resist."
Dr. Peter Schultz
Department of Political Science