by Kristina Brandt

Created on: May 20, 2008

Dealing with politics on campus can be either a positive or negative experience for students. For some, the debates on controversial issues that arise encourage students to get involved and voice their own opinion. For others, it turns them off to the point where they don't care about what happens in their college or university. My university had both.

Coming from a school that has an outstanding reputation around the country for its academics and affordability, I thought my school was the best of the best in everything. However, the more time I spent there, the more I realized that there were so many gaps between what the students wanted and what the administration wanted.

Since my school has the reputation of being a top SUNY school, we get more and more students applying to attend. As a result, class sizes are getting bigger and the administration is working on how to accommodate as many people as they can. One way, was to rebuild some of the residential buildings on campus to fit more students. In particular, they are currently rebuilding one residential community right next to another one with plans that the two communities will share a dining hall.

When the administration asked the students if they agreed with these plans and if they preferred one dining hall or two for these communities, the students disagreed with the plans and said if it had to be done, they'd prefer two dining halls. Speaking from experience, a community takes a lot of pride in its dining hall. It's a place where students can advertise their events and even hold a few events of their own. My residential community has turned our dining hall into a casino, a concert hall, and the reception area for the community commencement ceremony for graduating seniors. If two communities were to share one dining hall, there may be some territorial problems. Not to mention you're doubling the amount of students who would be using the dining hall which would make it more crowded.

After the administration received the results of the survey, they continued with their plans, including having the communities share a dining hall. Since then, there have been several articles in the university's student newspapers about the students' concerns that they're not being listened to. There were also several town hall meetings on campus where the students were able to ask the members of the administration questions, but the students still felt their voices were not being heard.

There have also been decisions to give the on campus police officers Tasers, another decision the students have told administrators they disagree with. As the administration of the university continues to make decisions without informing students first or not taking into consideration how the students feel about these decisions, more and more students are becoming frustrated. Some students have continued to try speaking with those in charge, attend town hall meetings, and fight for what they believe in. However, many students have just given up. If the administration isn't going to listen, they why should they waste their energy trying to be heard?

As more money is being spent on making the campus look nicer for tours and incoming freshmen, the students are trying to let others know they want something done about the issues they care about. They want more teachers, more financial aid, more of a variety of classes. The students are letting others know how they feel, but it seems most of the time they're overruled. Whether this inspires students or discourages them depends on their determination to make a difference.

Learn more about this author, Kristina Brandt.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.