Last Thursday, AS hosted the first Town Hall with President Corey and the PAC. It was held in the Caf and was open to all students. The Town Hall was a collaborative effort between AS and the office of the president, with the purpose of facilitating unique discussion between students and senior administrators. The intention was to make this event a staple of each semester. Due to a disappointingly low turnout, though, there is already some doubt as to whether the event should remain on the president’s schedule. We believe that, although there is room for improvement in the advertisement and execution of the Town Hall, the event should be held each semester as planned.
The Town Hall was publicized, but not very well. On a college campus heavy with extracurricular activities and well-meaning events, you have to go out of your way to draw people to your event. In hindsight, it’s easy to see how advertising could have been more effective. Perhaps students would have been more inclined to attend if they knew Chris Grace would announce plans for a faster Internet connection. Or perhaps RAs could have better encouraged their residents to attend.
The first Town Hall was an important precedent. We believe AS and the office of the president should host this event at least once a semester. It is an important step in transparency and approachability within the university’s leadership. It is a real shame that so few students attended this first gathering. It sends the message that the student body is disconnected – and is content to remain disconnected. Meanwhile, we encourage AS to further build upon the idea of the Town Hall. AS saw a need for open dialog between students and administrators and moved to meet that need with the cooperation of the president’s office. There is room for improvement. AS president Mark Heath acknowledged this when he said “we would be wise to consider another way to me more successful at accomplishing” the goal of student-administrator interaction. AS should take heart, and the PAC should know there are students on campus who appreciate their presence at the Town Hall.
There are improvements to be made, but that is par for the course with a new event. You can’t build a better mousetrap, after all, unless an imperfect mousetrap has been built first.
