2008 Woodie Awards
Vote Absentee
Reaching new heights
Emma Simson
Issue date: 5/12/07 Section: Opinion
A year ago I took the oath to protect the interests of the student body and to advocate on your behalf. This past year it has been an honor and a pleasure to serve you as SGA president. I am thankful for the opportunities I have had to work on student issues and to meet many incredible people. Working together, we continued to advance student interests. Of course, the work is never finished. We, as students, must continue to expect and demand a high-quality education and an enriching living experience at the university - especially given how much we pay to go here.
The primary reason we are here is to learn. I have enjoyed many of my experiences in the classroom and in the Gemstone program. I have, however, made a troubling observation. While I benefited immensely from the University Honors and Gemstone programs, I believe we are creating a two-tiered education system. With 13 living-learning programs, there is a sizable portion of the student body that benefits from small classes and direct contact with university staff. There are many more, however, who do not have the advantage of small classes or relationships with professors until their junior or senior year. These are the students who feel they are "just a number." This must change.
It is a matter of culture, funding priorities and distribution of resources. The culture must be established that professors are here to advance a body of knowledge and to share that knowledge with their students. I have met many professors who are extremely invested in their students, but I have also met professors who see teaching undergraduates as an annoyance. When hiring faculty, we need to emphasize their roles as teachers. We also need to push departments to spend resources on hiring faculty who directly interact with students, not just the big-name professors. Perhaps we should re-evaluate our tenure system and consider advancing faculty based on their involvement in undergraduate education, not just publication. Lastly, the distribution of resources across the campus must be examined. There are departments with large numbers of students and considerably fewer resources. The students in these departments have paid a large sum to be here and deserve a quality education.
We all know education is not just time spent in the classroom. Internships, study abroad and community service allow us to learn through personal experience. University President Dan Mote has promised that every student will have the opportunity to have at least one of these experiences. It is a wonderful idea, and I am pleased that Mote created the President's Promise Office with the express purpose of fulfilling this goal. I believe, however, we are far from where we need to be. First, participation in a living-learning program should not be considered a fulfillment of the promise. Second, we must evaluate the quality of these experiences. Overall, the initiative requires a thoughtful plan on how the university will aid students in connecting with local governments, organizations and businesses for enriching internships and community service opportunities.
College is also about the living experience. The development of East Campus will mean greater retail, dining and entertainment options. As College Park develops, however, affordable housing will become an even greater concern. Currently, off-campus student housing complexes cost up to $950 per person per month. The shortage of student housing has many origins, not the least of which is that students have gotten caught in the middle of a disagreement about how and where future housing should be built. It is time for all parties involved to take all possible steps toward increasing the supply of student housing.
In stating these problems, I do not wish to imply that I feel the university does a bad job or that I think administrators do not want to see these changes. In fact, I feel quite the opposite. This year I have been amazed at the changes the university has undergone, and I cannot believe I applied to any other university four years ago. I have also been pleased and excited by the desire and commitment of many administrators to better the undergraduate experience. Instead, I am laying out these issues for both students and administrators. We, as students, must recognize our own role to play in identifying these problems, bringing them to the attention of administrators and following through to see real change. My hope is that students will continue to push the university to new levels and that the slogan year after year will remain: No Better Time to Be a Terp.
Emma Simson is former president of the Student Government Association and a senior government and politics major. She can be reached at esimson@umd.edu.
The primary reason we are here is to learn. I have enjoyed many of my experiences in the classroom and in the Gemstone program. I have, however, made a troubling observation. While I benefited immensely from the University Honors and Gemstone programs, I believe we are creating a two-tiered education system. With 13 living-learning programs, there is a sizable portion of the student body that benefits from small classes and direct contact with university staff. There are many more, however, who do not have the advantage of small classes or relationships with professors until their junior or senior year. These are the students who feel they are "just a number." This must change.
It is a matter of culture, funding priorities and distribution of resources. The culture must be established that professors are here to advance a body of knowledge and to share that knowledge with their students. I have met many professors who are extremely invested in their students, but I have also met professors who see teaching undergraduates as an annoyance. When hiring faculty, we need to emphasize their roles as teachers. We also need to push departments to spend resources on hiring faculty who directly interact with students, not just the big-name professors. Perhaps we should re-evaluate our tenure system and consider advancing faculty based on their involvement in undergraduate education, not just publication. Lastly, the distribution of resources across the campus must be examined. There are departments with large numbers of students and considerably fewer resources. The students in these departments have paid a large sum to be here and deserve a quality education.
We all know education is not just time spent in the classroom. Internships, study abroad and community service allow us to learn through personal experience. University President Dan Mote has promised that every student will have the opportunity to have at least one of these experiences. It is a wonderful idea, and I am pleased that Mote created the President's Promise Office with the express purpose of fulfilling this goal. I believe, however, we are far from where we need to be. First, participation in a living-learning program should not be considered a fulfillment of the promise. Second, we must evaluate the quality of these experiences. Overall, the initiative requires a thoughtful plan on how the university will aid students in connecting with local governments, organizations and businesses for enriching internships and community service opportunities.
College is also about the living experience. The development of East Campus will mean greater retail, dining and entertainment options. As College Park develops, however, affordable housing will become an even greater concern. Currently, off-campus student housing complexes cost up to $950 per person per month. The shortage of student housing has many origins, not the least of which is that students have gotten caught in the middle of a disagreement about how and where future housing should be built. It is time for all parties involved to take all possible steps toward increasing the supply of student housing.
In stating these problems, I do not wish to imply that I feel the university does a bad job or that I think administrators do not want to see these changes. In fact, I feel quite the opposite. This year I have been amazed at the changes the university has undergone, and I cannot believe I applied to any other university four years ago. I have also been pleased and excited by the desire and commitment of many administrators to better the undergraduate experience. Instead, I am laying out these issues for both students and administrators. We, as students, must recognize our own role to play in identifying these problems, bringing them to the attention of administrators and following through to see real change. My hope is that students will continue to push the university to new levels and that the slogan year after year will remain: No Better Time to Be a Terp.
Emma Simson is former president of the Student Government Association and a senior government and politics major. She can be reached at esimson@umd.edu.
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Jafri Syed
posted 5/16/07 @ 8:46 PM EST
Unfortunately, professors get money for doing research. Since UMD is a major RESEARCH university, it makes sense that professors would consider teaching undergrads an "annoyance. (Continued…)
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