Valerie M. Dunn vmdunn@aol.com
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While pursuing my degree here in Carbondale, I came across a recent statement suggesting that SIU President James Walker is planning to hire yet another nationally renowned firm to study marketing, and to try to eradicate the party image of this institution. Is this move wise or timely? The administration says they are "disappointed," but not half as disappointed as we are. Seldom do I pause in my busy schedule as a single mother and a full-time graduate student to take issue with such foolishness, believing that I have more constructive things to do. But since Mr. Walker is a man of genuine good will I believe, I am willing to make a few suggestions - free of charge.
To begin, after receiving my master's degree in education from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. ,. I continued taking graduate courses so I could support my daughter after the death of her father. I learned about SIUC while a fellow of the Little Rock Writing Project. The Director of Graduate studies, Director of Writing Studies, the great staff in the English office and the Assistant Dean of the Graduate School facilitated my acceptance through their active recruitment policy for women and minority students.
Fortunately, I was chosen to receive the Graduate Dean's Fellowship Award and an assistantship for the second year. I am now a resident of Illinois, a voter and a Carbondale homeowner for which I have the privilege of paying exorbitant Carbondale taxes. My daughter started as an SIU undergraduate as I started my doctoral program. I struggle to pay for her courses as I continue my own studies. If Mr. Walker needs a place to spend those student and taxpayer dollars, I suggest he start with supporting established programs right here at SIUC.
When you see tuition hikes breaking the backs of average students; when you see administrators not producing a shred of evidence for the need for it; when you see that most faculty are against it and didn't ask for it for pay raises; when you see the postponement of courses needed to finish out degrees; when you see students worrying about assistantship and insurance policies; when you see some of the best and brightest students and professors abandoning ship; when you see students wondering if they can afford to stay, or even make it through the next day; when you see indiscriminate firings because fair policies are not in place to protect peoples' livelihoods; when you see that SIUC is top heavy with pay raises for administrators and low on professor and student respect; when you see that morale is low, and that attrition is high; then you will see that you don't need to have an outside firm to help you see what's going on right here under your own nose, Mr. Walker. And, we won't have to pay for another expensive $300,000 pair of glasses.
I am sorry to see this ugly and unnecessary underbelly. Like Martin Luther King Jr., I cannot sit idly by and remain unconcerned. What affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Those thousands of dollars could pay for graduate assistants who, along with their capable professors, could engage in independent studies (for which all professors should get paid) and Mr. Walker could have his study, save graduate assistantships and boost this institution's image, all at the same time. We need leaders who believe in supporting the talent we already possess. If administrators cannot find creative ways to save our money, then they should not be allowed ridiculous ways to spend our money. There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and students and teachers are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair.
Imagine what would happen if we, in a show of solidarity, decided to boycott a semester in protest over these exorbitant tuition hikes, arrogant administrative pay raises and run-away spending policies? Imagine what would happen if we decided to vote with our checkbooks and refused to send in that extra 20 percent tuition increase? Power is only granted by the consent of the governed. Remember, students are the lifeblood of this University and of this town. We don't have an image problem as much as we have an imagination problem. Let us all hope the cataracts of disservice will dissolve and that the myopia of misguidance will give way to a more humane vision of SIUC's future. The wise know that attractiveness comes from the inside. Word-of-mouth advertising from satisfied students and professors is your best form of advertising, Mr. Walker, and that doesn't cost a dime.
Valerie is a graduate student in education. Her views do not necessarily reflect those of the Daily Egyptian.
Published on 11/17/05; 12:24:44 PM
