2008 Woodie Awards
Guest Editorial: Transparency at Lawrence
Pete Snyder
Issue date: 5/19/06 Section: Opinions & Editorials
As a strong liberal arts college, Lawrence frequently reminds us to challenge assumptions and to think critically. In our classes, professors urge us to question what others take for granted, to rethink common beliefs and to search for underlying explanations. This principle is so central to a strong liberal arts education that Lawrence's mission statement commits us to a "critical examination of values, ideas, and actions" and to create a community that "supports open and free inquiry."
Unfortunately, many of Lawrence's policies fail to live up to the ideals embodied in the mission statement. Faculty, trustee, and administrative policies keep students from large amounts of information that affect them, often without explanation. This forces students to accept information from administrators and faculty unquestioningly and uncritically. Far from creating an atmosphere of "open and free inquiry," such policies create an atmosphere of suspicion and mistrust, feeding conspiracy theories and diminishing a sense of community. This problem is pervasive, affecting student's academic, social, and financial lives, and these polices ought to be changed.
First, faculty policy bars students from seeing faculty governance minutes, the faculty handbook, voting records, and faculty by-laws. These documents govern how new classes are offered, requirements for majors and minors, and what courses fulfill general education requirements, among many other things. This prevents students from understanding how faculty governance makes these decisions, how particular faculty members voted, and the reasoning offered. As a result, students cannot fully participate in discussions about Lawrence's academic policies. The scant knowledge students have of faculty governance comes from mass emails and press releases. Without knowledge of the context that the faculty makes these decisions in, students must accept or reject these announcements uncritically. Our professors teach us to privilege primary sources over secondary accounts, and we ought to except the same from them outside the classroom.
Unfortunately, many of Lawrence's policies fail to live up to the ideals embodied in the mission statement. Faculty, trustee, and administrative policies keep students from large amounts of information that affect them, often without explanation. This forces students to accept information from administrators and faculty unquestioningly and uncritically. Far from creating an atmosphere of "open and free inquiry," such policies create an atmosphere of suspicion and mistrust, feeding conspiracy theories and diminishing a sense of community. This problem is pervasive, affecting student's academic, social, and financial lives, and these polices ought to be changed.
First, faculty policy bars students from seeing faculty governance minutes, the faculty handbook, voting records, and faculty by-laws. These documents govern how new classes are offered, requirements for majors and minors, and what courses fulfill general education requirements, among many other things. This prevents students from understanding how faculty governance makes these decisions, how particular faculty members voted, and the reasoning offered. As a result, students cannot fully participate in discussions about Lawrence's academic policies. The scant knowledge students have of faculty governance comes from mass emails and press releases. Without knowledge of the context that the faculty makes these decisions in, students must accept or reject these announcements uncritically. Our professors teach us to privilege primary sources over secondary accounts, and we ought to except the same from them outside the classroom.
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