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Tuesday September 12, 2000

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Town hall meeting deserved better turnout

By The Wildcat Opinions Board

UA students screwed up.

President Peter Likins offered himself up for two hours during last Friday's Town Hall meeting at Kiva Auditorium in the Education building. The express purpose of the meeting was for Likins to address student concerns.

But among the few student groups to show up were - big surprise - ASUA and Students Against Sweatshops.

If the students want their voices heard, they need to take advantage of the time given to them by university administrators. A number of critical issues were addressed at the event, all of which impact every UA student.

Likins and the few students present discussed the possibility of increasing professors' salaries. This could result in higher tuition for all students.

If higher tuition rates are announced, the students will certainly wish they had taken advantage of the meeting to voice their concerns.

The meeting also addressed the possibility of developing a campus child-care facility, a critical issue that the administration has considered for a while.

But as critical as it may be, the administration has yet to seriously begin working on the problem. The project may never get done unless the administration feels pressure from the student body.

Perhaps the most critical issue discussed at the town hall meeting was student advising. Likins stated that the current system has excellent leadership, but needs to do a better job of communicating to the student body as a whole.

If more students had taken the time to attend the meeting, they could have given Likins firsthand impressions of their advising experiences. Without valuable student input that is best accessible during direct meetings like the town hall event, administrators are forced to take shots in the dark about how students feel about current programs and what they think needs to be improved.

Groups like ASUA and SAS are doing their part by participating in such events. If it weren't for them, there probably would have been a zero student turnout at the event.

Obviously, UA students lead busy lives, and attending a town hall meeting on a Sunday night instead of doing homework may not be feasible for all. And town hall meetings are not the only way students can get in touch with Likins.

But while e-mails and phone calls are not always returned, students know for sure that Likins will be available at such a meeting. Unless UA students at least make an attempt to change the status quo, no student deserves the right to complain.

Furthermore, the university as a whole benefits when students get involved in discussing campus issues. Students who aren't normally involved may have a great idea as to how to improve advising or where to begin developing a child-care facility. If they choose not to voice these ideas, nobody benefits.

Town hall meetings are unique in that they allow students to directly communicate with university leaders, without using ASUA or the Wildcat as a medium. They can put leaders like Likins on the spot and demand answers.

But only if they show up.


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