In the three years I’ve been on the editorial board, we’ve talked about roughly the same issues every semester. We always talk about Silent Sam, the Board of Governors, (un)affordable housing in Chapel Hill, privatization and corporatization of the University, the increasing development of Chapel Hill, fraternities, the (f)utility of the student body president, allocation of student fees, the state of athletics, the state town and gown relations, the University administration’s (in)ability to take public stances and CUAB’s (in)ability to get good musicians to play at Homecoming and Jubilee.
And in the past three years, not much has changed. There’s still endless hand-wringing over what to do with Silent Sam. And fraternities. And sexual assault. And Dreamers on campus. And binge drinking. And the continually mounting affordable housing crisis in Chapel Hill.
When I sat down to write this column, I didn’t think I’d be all doom and gloom, but when I reflect on my time on the opinion side of The Daily Tar Heel, I’m disheartened.
I’m disheartened by the University’s reluctance to solve the problems facing students. I’m disheartened by the administration’s propensity to implement new policies when students are away. And I’m disheartened by the increased emphasis on public relations, instead of inspiring and educating students.
My hope for this paper and this University lies in the minds of its students. I hope that a new group of hopeful, change-minded students join the editorial board. And I hope that they continue to write about the issues facing this campus. I hope that they come to this paper with ideas and feel supported in expressing their opinions. I hope they don’t get to bogged down by the repetition. And I hope the University listens.
But beyond The Daily Tar Heel, which has been such an important part of my undergraduate experience, I hope the University renews its commitment to cultivating the minds of its students. All too often, the emphasis is elsewhere. As the leaders of tomorrow, we’re inheriting an uncertain world, and I think it’s important that the University provide us both with the tools to enter that world and the inspiration to analyze, criticize, and change it. The life of the mind is what an education should cultivate, and I hope that students of this University will do that.
