To the Editor:
At a quick glance it appears that we have an entire student body of cynics. But if you look a little deeper, you’ll find a collection of intelligent and motivated individuals who really do believe, “why not change the world,” and we start with what is immediate—the Rensselaer community.
I applaud Rensselaer for its recent developments. It has created an ambitious proposal, The Rensselaer Plan, which has been a comprehensive and well designed catalyst for change. Rensselaer is significantly expanding research, enhancing the first-year experience for students, faculty and staff and taking major steps in enriching the resources available through the planned construction of two new buildings: the Biotechnology Center and the Experimental Media & Performing Arts Center.
However, I feel that Rensselaer has become a bureaucratic extreme. While it is important to have the policies and procedures in place to see that the plans are carried out, resources are tracked, and performance is measured—it is overdone. Rensselaer is so enamored with its vision that it has lost its sense of purpose with regards to university life. It has gotten so caught up in the busyness of systems and controls that it has become unresponsive to simple needs. Instead of, “how can we make this better?” it seems that certain individuals are too focused on stability, on “how can we keep it where it is?” We are being overmanaged and under led.
In these times, change is a given, the question is how we can influence it. We can choose to complain on the sidelines and become embittered when we are overlooked and ignored, or we can choose to lead; move beyond our own lives, push the boundaries, risk moving into unknown territory and reach towards a dream of what could be. We have the opportunity to influence the organization we belong to and perhaps move it in a direction that gives us more satisfaction with our experience. Do we take advantage of this opportunity?
Change can start here and now, not when we leave. I’m happy to point out that in a campus devoid of involvement, we cannot expect the changes to go our way. As an idealist, I resist the pessimism and look forward to a renewed interest in making changes within the current system.
Pashmina Lalchandani
EMAC ‘03
