The power is yours
Campus Times
February 21, 1997
The student body is the great sleeping giant on the University of La
Verne campus. At one time, when the Associated Student Federation (ASF)
Forum was first formed, students had a powerful voice by which student concerns
could be projected to the administration.
Now, due to the change that has gradually occurred within ASF, the student
forum is no longer genuinely representative of the actual student body.
Either students are not bringing their concerns to the Forum, or if they
are, nothing is really being done about it. ASF's commitment to students
now rarely goes beyond party planning and activity organization.
Essentially, what is taking place is that students are griping to one
another and not to the administration, and students' needs are not being
met. Also, because students are not complaining to administration, faculty
are definitely out of touch with student's concerns, probably even more
so than ASF.
Instead of relying on student government to take our complaints to the
people in power, we must now rely solely on only our own voices.
Students can get so much done if we just realize the power that each
one of us has within ourselves by just being students. Perhaps the most
important thing about the power of students is that we are paying for our
education, and, if our needs are not being met, than we always have the
choice to get our education elsewhere.
Nowadays, students seem to care less about the education they are receiving
and are approaching college as a business relationship; the university provides
the service and students are the clients. But as with anywhere else where
one is not getting good service, the option to get it somewhere else is
always open.
So many things on this campus need attention, such as the lack of space
for some departments in need, the lack of resources for academic departments,
maintenance concerns, safety concerns in the dorms, parking problems and,
of course, the same old Aramark dilemmas involving tasteless food which
is grossly overpriced.
Simple things can be accomplished by students if we just take interest
and stop acting victimized. There is nothing difficult about circulating
a petition around school to fire the entire financial aid staff, or attempting
to overthrow the monopoly of CampusLink by on-campus students frustrated
with the incompetence factor of the phone system. If everyone refused to
stand for all of the garbage, then the University would have no other choice
but to find another phone system suitable for students needs.
More often, students are becoming too apathetic to do anything but bitch
to one another. We are the ones who pay the salaries of those who deny us
the opportunities we deserve. However, if we do not protest these issues,
we are resigning to remain apathetic, and our needs as students will never
even be known to those who have the power to change things.
Many people are dispensable on a college campus. If a professor quits,
another one is hired. If ASF dissolved tomorrow, no one would even attempt
to keep the forum intact except for the ones in the forum who would be without
a public position to put on their job resumes upon graduation. If the entire
office of Financial Aid is fired, then there are more applicants in the
tow waiting to come on board.
However, without students, the University would no longer be able to
remain open. Really, we should have the most say about the well being of
not just the University, but the future thereof by the ones the University
is actually granting a very expensive education.
I feel I am luckier than most students in that I have this open space
to voice my opinions each week and am somewhat obligated to state where
I stand as a student on this campus. I can only hope that students believe
in the power of their own individual voices and realize that if we ban together
for specific purposes, we can make a difference. Do not just sit back and
let the administration dictate your future and navigate your college career.
Open your mouths and protest.
Raechel Fittante, a junior journalism major, is editor in chief of
the Campus Times. She can be reached by e-mail at fittante@ulvacs.ulaverne.edu.