A popular topic on college campuses across the United States has been the communication between administration and student body. Pacific University is no exception when it comes to working toward bridging that dividing gap. President Lesley Hallick is well aware of this issue and is looking at a new option to strengthen the communication between students and administrators.
“One of the things that keeps bubbling up, which is a popular topic on most college campuses, is finding forums and finding ways to have discussions and debates about different points of views of campus issues in a safe and civil way,” Hallick said. “Where people are truly comfortable expressing their opinions and equally comfortable in disagreeing in a way that’s respectful and informative.”
Hallick and the administrative staff at Pacific are open to hearing student thoughts and concerns about campus issues and are willing to answer any questions students have. The goal for the administrators is to create a better way to communicate what is happening on campus.
“To me, I’m always looking for ways for us to more effectively communicate,” Hallick said. “How do we get the word out? How do we hear what students are wanting and needing? And how can we have a better communication system? Student feedback is something I always look forward to hearing.”
One possible solution to creating a better communication system is opening a student run forum. This idea is currently being discussed and formed by freshmen Fernando Lira, who is working on forming a student only panel that will include mostly upperclassmen.
“I’m targeting mostly seniors because they’ve been through the system and they know when things aren’t working and in the future, those students who are still here can actually work to resolve some of those issues proactively,” Lira said. “Since I am involved in many things, I have had a lot of my questions answered and now I am trying to formulate a way to make sure students who aren’t as involved, can have their questions answered as well.”
Lira hopes this forum will be opened up to all students beginning in the spring semester with discussions in Taylor Meade
Auditorium. He is currently looking for seniors in different areas around campus or who are involved with different programs to discuss issues such as student safety, campus life, tuition and financial issues. Like Hallick, Lira feels the communication between students and camps administrators is something Pacific can improve.
“It’s nobody’s fault,” Lira said. “If students want to know what’s going on around campus, they should make an effort to reach out and the administration should make it known who they can reach out to. I don’t think there is currently a very good knot tied between students and professors to where they can talk about different issues. I’m trying to strengthen that bond between the administration and the students.”
With a forum for students and run solely by students, Lira feels it will be something students and staff both embrace.
“I’m anticipating that it will be something that’s well received and I’m just trying to make sure that our students and peers on campus have a good grasp on what’s going on, because without us students here, this institution will not work,” Lira said. “This institution needs to be willing to express or collaborate with students about the problems or changes that are happening on campus.”
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