In my short career as a college student, I have attended Onondaga Community College and Binghamton University. Both have limited student input in school affairs. At my old school, the Onondaga Community College administration decided that the quad and the library were outdated and needed to be renovated. So, they renovated them. I suppose it’s not a surprise that only a few students knew what it was going to look like and not one student had input in the project. Onondaga Community College also seemed out of touch with the events that impacted students.
While I was attending Onondaga Community College, a student died walking from a party on one of the coldest nights of the year. There was a brief statement from the administration and a reminder of counseling services, and then nothing more. No student input at all. Had the student died from lack of transportation? Did he die because the college was ignoring that fact that students who were minors had access to alcohol? Is there a way we could prevent this from happening in the future? There could have been a forum that addressed these questions, but instead, the students were left in the dark. I originally thought that this was only representative of community colleges, and I remember thinking that once I went to a larger, four-year university, there would be more student input. However, I was wrong.
Student input at BU could be as simple as having a forum that allows students to ask questions about events that occurred and have a direct way to vent their frustrations so the University knows what they are. However, BU seems to be content sending an email or posting something to B-Line to address issues. This is one-sided and unfair to the students on campus who have been affected by the events.
Take, for example, the students who were peacefully protesting racism on campus — their posters were taken down and they were threatened with arrest. That happened on March 28. The first time students were able to vent their frustrations in front of the administration was at a free speech event on campus on April 11. There should have been a forum well before then, and specifically about that issue.
In the case of the recent stabbing, many students have complained that they do not feel safe on campus. A forum could identify how students can feel safer, whether it be with self-defense classes or better emergency procedures. This would allow the University a chance to respond accordingly to student concerns.
Student input can also allow students to participate in the development of the future of the campus. Let’s say the University has some grant money to remodel some of the older classrooms in the Fine Arts Building. Typically, the administration will determine the outcome of the remodels without asking the students their opinions. Not one form of government in the United States would be allowed to be as autocratic as this. It sidesteps the democratic principles that we have as Americans.
Take, for example, a real case: the pedestrian pathway I discussed in an article from October 2017. There are two groups working toward its completion, the first being the local city of Binghamton government and the New York State Department of Transportation, which have held several town hall meetings discussing the plans of the walkway and welcomed civic engagement with the plans. The second, BU, has not had any. This stark difference is an example of how BU treats student input.
Allowing student input would only benefit the University. By seeking student input, the University would gain a better idea of how to react to incidents, such as the stabbing that occurred in Mountainview College. Students would be able to take pride and feel safer in their community as well as gain a better appreciation for civic input. The University seems to be ignoring that we are all very intelligent human beings, hence our choice to attend BU. So by ignoring the students in this way, BU is losing some of the greatest opinions, ideas and resolutions that its own students have. Why not use our intelligence to further improve our campus? After all, we are allowed to participate in the communities that we come from, so why not allow us to be involved with one we voluntarily chose to be a part of?
Joshua Hummell is a senior double-majoring in classical and Near Eastern studies and history.