The University’s search for a new dean of the largest unit on campus, the College of Arts and Sciences, is nearly over. The time for student involvement in the process is upon us, but how can our voices be heard?
In February, this board endorsed Houston Summers because we believed he would “be an effective advocate for student voices.” The executive branch’s decision to facilitate a town hall meeting to consider student opinion in the selection process is a step in the right direction.
But forums held by UNC at 11 a.m. on weekdays are inopportune. In the future, forums should be planned with student schedules in mind. And forums that overlap with class are not the only thing keeping students away from participating.
The lack of a direct voice in selecting the new dean and the pressures of daily student life are limiting student participation.
So too is general apathy. Students should make every effort to attend student government’s town hall meeting and the remaining public forums.
It cannot be assured that the general student voice will be heard in student government luncheons with the candidates in South Building. They will be heard once space is made for students to engage with and provide opinions to student government transparently.
The new dean’s impact on students’ academic experience cannot be understated. The dean is the students’ link to the UNC administration. They fight to find ways to innovate the curriculum in a fiscally tumultuous environment.
The college’s students have the responsibility to speak up, both for themselves and future students.
