Growth Article #3

An editorial note on this article — the copy references two articles printed in the two weekly issues before this article was written. One article was a completely misguided attempt to put the onus of enrollment growth on the budding student governance movement on campus; the second article was the response by one of the student governance coordinators to that article. It is to both of these articles that I respond.

Clarifying My Role in Enrollment Growth
Peter Ellis, February 17, 2005

In response to Javier Berrios’ Letter to the Editor last week: I’m confused. Student opinions surrounding the issue of enrollment growth seem very diverse, yet, as the sole student representative, I haven’t heard a word of it except through articles in this newspaper that misrepresent the DTF entirely.

I applaud the work of the student union, first of all, and I am disappointed in Adam Hilton’s failure to check his facts before writing his article. However, that, to me, does not excuse one thing: students have been given opportunities to give their feedback to this DTF and, with the exception of a very small number of students, have failed to do so. The overall student reaction seems to be “So what? I’m graduating before this happens.”

In most cases, this is not actually true. There are a number of proposals being considered which could be implemented as soon as next year. This is dependent, however, upon the Board of Trustees and the President of the college; the DTF only exists to make a recommendation to the administration about where we think the college should grow.

Further, you’re graduating, but you have the most knowledge surrounding Evergreen and the way it works. You have the best insight into what this college is all about. This applies to every member of the student body. This is your college. You can determine its future. I’m on the DTF to ensure that the voices of this student body are heard, but my job is limited by my ability to get constructive feedback.

Perhaps so far I haven’t done my job. So what do I need to do to help? What would enable students to better take part in this process? I admit that this question comes at a point where the DTF is beginning to consider proposals and that perhaps it should have been posed to the community earlier. My fault. I take the blame for that.

I object to assertions that the Enrollment Growth DTF has met “under the noses” of students. This is patently false – the DTF was made known to students in Fall Quarter with an article written by myself in this very newspaper. Proposals would have been freely accepted from students if they had been submitted. There was one student on this campus who was on the list of potential proposals, but nothing was ever submitted.

I want to clarify why I’m on this DTF. I have served on the Enrollment Coordination Committee for over two years and have gained an extensive background on enrollment at Evergreen. I was approached by the chairs of this DTF because of that background, which prepared me for my work on this DTF. Since then, I have made every effort to ensure that the viewpoint of students is well represented.

Being on the DTF, however, is more about reading proposals and being buried in data. For me, it’s making sure student input is welcomed and heard. Give me something to work with. Let me know your concerns, your fears, your hopes, your ideas. I will do my best to ensure that the DTF takes the opinions of students seriously.

Comments are closed.