The Elm Student Newspaper
Letters to the Editor...
Volume 80, Issue 25
May 1, 2009
Dear Editor,
By this point in the semester, class officers should have already been elected and be busy planning events and fundraisers for next semester. However, such is not the case this year.
Only recently did we discover that class officer elections are not being held in the spring but instead in the fall. Most of the student body (better known as the Student Government Association’s constituency) were, and until now remain, uninformed as to these plans. It is obvious to us that transparency is not a fundamental area of concern.
Holding class elections in the fall creates a litany of problems that may not have been thoroughly realized when the decision was made to change election dates. First and foremost, a great opportunity to fundraise and establish class camaraderie at the end of spring semester is lost. Similarly gone is valuable time to research and gain financial support during the summer months. Most importantly, upon their return in the fall class officers will find it difficult—if not impossible—to submit a well-planned, documented, and balanced budget in order to maximize productivity and efficiency of the student body’s Student Activities Fee.
Such a delay is most problematic to this year’s rising seniors as their officers need the most time and resources of all the classes to be successful in their commencement-related endeavors.
The time and effort it takes to hold a class election is minimal. So why not do it now?
-Caroline Grier ‘10 and Alisha DiGiandomenico ‘10
Dear Editor,
When I heard that Neil Gaiman was coming to our campus, I was excited beyond words and quickly got a ticket. In the end, of course, the event was held on the campus Green, at which point, one is left to wonder, what is the point of tickets? I thought the point of tickets was to limit the number of people able to attend this event, making it smaller and more exclusive. This was what made this “conversation” special. At the point we’re going to put it on the Green, why didn’t the school just rent out the football stadium in Baltimore so everyone could attend?
While I understand that outside forces—the weather—and fans—you know who you are—were moving to make this event bigger, I can’t help but wonder why. I was under the impression that this event was for us, the student body, and not for Gaiman fans from all over. If we were going to cater to all of Gaiman’s fans in the U.S., why didn’t we just invite his fans from around the world, too, while we’re at it? If they complain enough, perhaps we could televise it and then everyone could see it.
What I’m trying to say here is that WC prides itself on being a close-knit school community, so why are we trying to host huge events that go against the ideals of having a small school. If I wanted a huge campus with huge events where students just get lost in the crowd of other students and outsiders, I’d have gone to College Park.
That being said, I’d like to note that Neil Gaiman’s visit to WC was amazing, but it could have turned out so much worse, and we all know it.
-Sarah Lunn ‘09
Dear Editor,
I came to WAC; that’s right, not the new prestigious WC, but WAC, that small college that valued every student as a respected adult in the community. The current senior class was the last to see the remnants of WAC and hear the glorious stories of WAC life. I am so happy to have seen a bit of WAC returning thanks to NIC BASH, TOM PERRY & CHASE HOUSTON. For the hundreds of you whom enjoyed their tribute to the Shoremen party, for War or the Shore, be sure to thank these guys for all their hard work. These guys hosted a WONDERFUL EVENT in which everyone had a great time and everyone was safe. I’m proud to see such great leaders emerge on their own. Not from some board directive, but they solely took interest in doing something and made it happen.
Many older alumni came to WAC because the students had a utopia set up, where they were supported by their peers in an open community to stand up for what they cared about. Students made EVERYTHING happen on this campus from changing social rules to hosting campus events. I hope in the future individuals like Nic, Tom & Chase will be given support from the school because events like theirs occurring every weekend might just make WAC come alive again.
Kudos to you guys & I hope others keep up their initiative. I thought the WAC experience was dead because systematically, all groups on campus’ ability to make decisions are now to be run through an advisor down to every $1 purchase! I thought there was no longer anything to experience here but how to color in the lines. I’ll keep my eye out for more signs of WAC life here and maybe one day I might recommend people to come here again.
-Nichole L. Bryant ‘09
Resident Area Director 2007-2009