When thinking about the shortfalls of Stetson University’s campus, we sometimes question the excessive amount of landscaping or the random purchase of a pile of “special” rocks that we don’t know how pertain to Stetson’s values. While these purchases and decisions on expenditures are questionable, some recent developments on campus seem to be making students and faculty happy.
Libby did an interview with Stetson’s newspaper, "The Reporter", called 'An Embarrassment of Success': Q&A with President Wendy Libby. This article was controversial for the students because it was portrayed as if Libby didn't want to talk. But really, she didn't have the facts of a survey that was given to the faculty by the newspaper about their experience at Stetson. She had never seen this information in order to respond effectively. Many people reading the article took it as Libby being condescending and almost incompetent.
The main issue was not that she was incompetent in doing her job; it was more of an issue that she's not communicating with her peers, including the Provost, to stay in touch with the faculty and students to hear these issues. However, one interview doesn’t mean that someone isn’t right for the job. We have to look at what she’s done for the school in the time she’s been here and that is what shows how effective she is. It also is not all based on her. The faculty
Many changes to campus have been made in the past few years. There has been an increase in athletic support and funding under President Libby, and many students who aren’t athletes don’t see the benefit. But are we really thinking through every scenario? With better athletics, which require more funding to improve, there ends up being more alumni support. This benefits the whole university in the long run because the alumni are still connected, coming to games and willing to give money where necessary. This also brings in a much more diverse student body, bringing students from other countries as well as athletes from all across the United States. Overall, the payoff from athletics cannot be overstated, even as we start out.
Things such as the landscaping however, seem a questionable expense and is always something that the students complain about. As much as I think the excessive landscaping at 7 a.m. is unnecessary, there is a reason it’s being done. If there is no landscaping, the school would not look as beautiful as it does today, and students wouldn’t be as interested in coming. We don’t think about all the effort that goes into these budgets when we hear the blowers in the morning, but these are necessary to benefit Stetson University.
The CUB renovations add much more room to the dining area and new spaces for the bookstore and the post office. There will also be added offices to the upstairs CUB for students to use. The old print shop was also demolished to make more room for parking, which was desperately needed. This has been the best use of money I’ve seen since being at Stetson, and I would be surprised to see people complaining as much as they did about the rocks.
Hopefully with this change, we can see more changes coming along on Stetson’s campus and we can see the new changes being used effectively. Some of the things that Stetson has to offer we miss because we’re too caught up in the issues we have. But we need to recognize how much we can do. Use the campus effectively. The need for change is always going to be there, so do something about it, and help with suggestions. As much as the faculty is trying to improve the campus for the students to have a better experience, we need to put in the effort as well.
