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Volume CXXXIII, Number 7 |
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Because darn it, better just isn't good enough
DERAY MCKESSON
CONTRIBUTOR
It's very easy to become comfortable with the way things have always been done. It's easy to see an issue, complain about it to your mirror and move on. It's easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the work. It's easy to think you don't matter in the grand scheme of things. This way of thinking inhibits growth. This is Bowdoin College.
The College, overall, is good-this is its problem. It's a place where the community-students, staff and faculty-have, in some ways, settled for less. There are some things here that are great-how the admissions office is beginning to define diversity (evident through the broadening of the group coming for the Bowdoin Invitational), the familial feeling of the vast majority of staff towards students, the ability of teachers, and the appearance of Bowdoin Bearings.
On the flip side, there are many things here that are mediocre-things that are on the tipping point and could go either way. There are two prime examples:
First, we are quick to yell "diversity" but the College has neither defined it nor had an honest dialogue about what diversity means. The Orient took a shot at it in the last issue but fell short of substance. It is easy to complain-much harder to act. The student organizations on campus should convene to discuss it, and the BSG should lead the discussion. The upper crust of the administration should be leading focus groups with the students. There needs to be action. I don't need to read another article about the void-I know it's there! I need to be reading a summary of a conversation, which is leading to something I can embrace-a working definition of diversity.
Second, everyone has an academic advisor but there is no consistency in their roles over the course of a college career. The academic advising situation is not bad-it just hasn't reached its full potential. It is 2003-10-31ly a system of missed opportunities and addressing this fact will lead to a solution. There should be honest dialogue amongst students, staff and faculty about how the system can be improved. How often should advisors see advisees? Why is academic advising important? How do students feel about their 2003-10-31 advisors? These are the questions to ask. I hear many complaints about the situation and it ends with that-a mere grumbling into the air. It must be directed. It is time not only to speak about it but to be about it.
It starts with small things. Have you thought about filling out the comment cards in the dining halls? DO it. First years, talk to your proctor about the good, the bad, and the ugly. Staff, I hear you haven't gotten a wage increase in a while-contact some student groups to get behind you. Do we all love the small river that appears by the Polar Bear statue when it rains?
As Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley said during his most recent campaign, "Better is not good enough." It is not good enough that Bowdoin is where it is now. Yes, we must acknowledge and commend the hard workers who got us where we are. This college has grown considerably in the past. At the same time, we must look forward and see how we can build further. Students must feel obligated to expect great things from this college and the College administration must realize that when the students become complacent, it has failed. Where are we now?
It is time to wake up and realize that we-students, faculty and staff-all play a part in the problem and we must have the courage to act. The time has come to question what we have. As they say in Narcotics Anonymous, the first step to recovery is accepting the fact that you have a problem. Hello, I am Bowdoin College and I am complacent.
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