This column is a chance to offer criticism and perspective on AU. It is a chance to offer congratulations, suggestions - or merely brief observations. It can pose a question, it can jumpstart a discussion.
More than anything, it can show where AU can improve.
And while my suggestions are limited to this newsprint, tomorrow afternoon we have an opportunity to tell AU's real policy makers our opinions on the plan. This Tuesday, the Strategic Planning Committee will hold their last town hall forum before the board of trustees reviews the plan next month. The forum, which will last from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the University Club, is a chance to let the individuals who will decide the future of this university know about our greatest hopes and dreams. Rarely does a community get such an opportunity - the chance to shape our plan and vision for the future.
When I arrived here three years ago, the campus community was in an uproar over Ladnergate's French chef and $100 bottles of wine. We called for more transparency and input - and this strategic planning process is one of the outcomes of those protests. This is a once-in-a-decade opportunity. There will be only one immediate future for AU, the community-centered future that this planning committee sculpts.
It is easy, of course, to laugh off such relevance. It is easy to put class and work ahead of this effort. And it is easy to say that your voice won't matter because in a few years, you will be a graduate and no longer affiliated with this university.
But just as the words "American University" will be inscribed on your diploma forever, the decisions the board will make in November will be part of AU history. They will shape this institution, setting measures of achievement, goals for new facilities and admissions standards. They will define a new era for AU.
These are not decisions to take lightly, even if you will be gone when they come to fruition. And I am not speaking to just students; the future is just as important to the staff and faculty.
Think about everything you've ever wanted to see from this university. Perhaps you want to see more female administrators. Perhaps you'd like to see more funding for the arts, a new approach to dorm life. Maybe you want to see scholarships for athletes increased; maybe you want to see improved academic standards; a better study abroad program; better management and less bureaucracy. Maybe you want none of these things.
I suppose my point is this: I don't know what you - faculty, staff and students - want to see this university become. And just as I don't know, the Strategic Planning Committee won't know your dreams either without your guidance.
A strategic plan is a waste if there is no buy-in from the university. Right now, the 21 people on the Strategic Planning Committee are doing a commendable job making tough decisions, deciding on a new vision and plan for the future. They have already received valuable input from the campus community. But in my heart, I know that there is likely a silent majority that has not weighed in.
It is to that silent majority that I am speaking to now. Just for the hell of it, why don't we show those 21 decision makers the opinions of 2,100, just as we did when we took to the quad to protest a faulty administration? Why not make their job easier and really show them our dreams for AU, and where we want to go?
This is an incredible opportunity. Don't be part of the silent majority that lets it pass unnoticed.
Carl Seip is a senior in the School of Public Affairs and the AU issues columnist for The Eagle. You can reach him at edpage@theeagleonline.com.
