I want to commend the article a couple weeks ago featuring the results of a recent Faculty Senate survey that revealed pathologically low levels of morale among tenured professors. The obvious conclusion (that the administration has systematically alienated the faculty) was dodged and avoided by the higher-ups, but the method of their response (talking about voter turnout, changing the subject to alleged student satisfaction rates, and labeling the survey supporters as a virulent minority) only supported the survey’s findings. I am writing today to argue that the administration’s policies have done as much to estrange the students and community members of RPI as they have done to antagonize the faculty. President Jackson and her underlings continue to push through security changes that bring little benefit while make the school a less inviting place.
When I arrived at RPI in 2002, I was delighted by the open-access atmosphere on campus. “How relieving,” I thought, “to be somewhere that is more committed to a community setting than to supporting the paranoia that has plagued this country.” My attitude was short-lived, as changes began almost immediately. Consider the following: There are pallid and unpersonable security guards in the Troy building whose sole purpose seems to be to intimidate and prevent students from having access to the administration.
Cameras now film students, faculty, staff, and visitors outside and indoors on campus. Who gets to watch these tapes? What purpose do they serve? What crimes have been committed that justify surveillance of the entire student body? ID cards are required for basic student access to facilities (the Registrar’s office, ’87 gym, Mueller Center, Library, etc). What terrible harm will there be if a non-student were to use the library (supported in part by taxpayer funds)? I’ve been told that some cameras in the new biotech facility actually film offices. How nice to be doing your work under the all-seeing gaze of “the eye?” One person told me that she must use her ID card twice to get to the bathroom in the Biotech Center.
I used to enjoy showing people around campus. Now it is a chore. Do I show them the new Biotech Center, with all the cameras and guards? The cool layout and technology in some of the classrooms, where the doors are locked? How about the view from the library window—not for long? In the latest Polytechnic, the front page story is a notification that the VCC will begin requiring ID cards for access. I do not know who has a say in these changes, or what, if any feedback the president receives from the students or faculty before implementing them.
My point is that I do not believe the top people at this school even think that the ones paying tuition should have a say in crucial decisions about RPI’s future. Most students pay an awful lot of money to go to this school. Is it too much to ask that those in charge not assume they are criminals? Cameras don’t provide safety; a community that fosters trust and mutual respect does.
This hostility is one of the core causes of fear among students at RPI. While security cameras may give administrators some comfort while they work in their offices, it does nothing to help students who actually live in Troy. In fact, it labels them a threat as well. The more security guards hassle non-students, the more hostility we can expect when we leave campus.
Again, I don’t think the president considers these things. What if a commitment was made to connect RPI’s members with each other and the Troy community? Why not allow the library to be free to anyone who wants to use it? Local high school kids could gain a lot from having such resources. The price to use the Mueller Center for non-students, staff, or faculty is very high—something like $500 or more per year. It is the best gym in town; maybe the price should be lowered so some of the people in Troy who want to get healthy have a good place to go.
Even within the RPI fold there is much that can be done to foster a sense of community. President Jackson should be more visible on campus; she should show that she is a part of this school, not simply its ruler. Why can’t a secretary tell someone that the president is busy (with more humanity) instead of an armed guard? Why not unlock some of the doors around here? I like being able to slip into a classroom to check my e-mail once in a while. Maybe some people will even leave their laptops at home if they can more easily use campus terminals. Are a couple of stolen computers really such a terrible price to pay for being able to slip on the ice without having the film reviewed by someone with a gun?
I don’t expect improvement. I also don’t expect to recommend this place to others, nor give to the alumni fund. Many colleges seem to be moving away from the idea of treating students like adults—I just had hopes for better. This president seems to lack the desire and the vision to make this a mecca of learning. Rather, she wants it to be prestigious and profitable. Why can’t she see that it can be both? In fact, it must be both.
Jon Pappas
CHME GRAD
