Every school has pros and cons, but as students, we know more of what goes on behind the doors of suppression, shut on us by the administration. Specifically in our small liberal arts college in upstate New York, we students have many complaints about our school. So without further ado, here is a list of things that are wrong with Hartwick College.
1. The students are unaware of where our money is going and how it is being spent.
As students who have to pay the ever-growing tuition, I believe we deserve to know exactly the breakdown of where our $53,000 goes each year. Our residence halls are falling apart, bug infested, leaking and cold—so why hasn’t our money gone to those? Why does our president need a raise, considering her lovely students are stuck in these horrendous rooms? And what about the academic buildings? Leaking ceilings, terrible internet, broken printers and chairs, lack of chalk for the professors. Where is compensation for that?
Students want answers on where their money is going. It’s not fair for us to be living in a paper bag while our president gives us no solutions.
2. There is a lack of trust between the faculty and the president.
Recently, a faculty vote of over half, declared a vote of non-confidence in the leadership of our president. The Board of Trustees then issued a statement belittling the vote of our hard-working faculty, saying that “The faculty’s vote is unwarranted and serves only to harm the college." I’m sorry, but what? More than half of the faculty and staff at Hartwick College is unsure about our president's ability to continue leading the school, although she has been overseeing the school for seven years. What has gotten done? Students are unhappy. The faculty is unhappy. Future students are not coming here because of the distaste that the population of the school has for it here. I don’t believe that the faculty vote was to harm the college in any way. I believe it was the best decision that will allow our alma mater to actually be here in 30 years and not be just another abandoned campus.
Voices cannot be ignored. This is a democracy- not a monarch.
3. Students are being reprimanded for voicing concerns to the College.
Contrary to popular belief, students are apparently not allowed to voice concerns about our campus without being chastised and slandered. Students have organized stand-ins and talks in order to civilly voice their concerns and frustrations, but students have been shut down by very impersonal emails coming from different administration—who have not talked with any student directly regarding their concerns.
This is just one of the many ways students are not being heard. I don’t know about my peers, but I chose a small liberal arts school to learn more than just academics. I wanted to learn how to interact with those in higher positions. I wanted to learn teamwork and hospitality, which is seemingly not offered on this campus.
4. The academics on campus are being pushed to the back burner.
When I first came to Hartwick, the class ratio was 11:1. Eleven students to one professor. I can say with full confidence that this has not been the case for the past two and a half years. Faculty and staff are quitting, being fired and moving to different schools for better opportunity, which is resulting in less professors to teach, and less care given to each student. Again, I chose this school for the size and availability of professors and staff and I have only been more and more disappointed each year.
As students, we deserve the best education, as we are paying so much money to get it! We deserve professors who aren’t rolled thin, who know their students names and who have time outside of class to talk and explore more options for our education.
Yes, I’m sure that the Center for Craft Food and Beverage is important, but I came here for an education, not to a food and beverage center.
5. Our dining hall is an absolute joke.
This just speaks for itself, but the amount of times people have gotten sick from The Commons is disgusting. Not to mention the fact that a mouse was found in the salad station last year and that many students have found hair in the food. Yes, I understand mistakes happen, but I believe that none of these issues have been addressed thoroughly and the sanitary concerns need to be addressed as soon as possible.
Overall, Hartwick is a good school. The faculty and staff--that are still here--are passionate about changing the future of this small school. As a third year student, I’m not sure where the future of this school is going but I hope it will be here for many future generations. Who am I to say that changing leadership is going to change the school? I’m just one person. But maybe all of the highly educated 41 out of 75 faculty members who were present at the meeting, who issued the vote of no confidence, know what is needed at an institute for higher education.
Just a thought.
