U-C Senate represents best of UI community

Students have a voice. But sometimes, their voice must come through others.

Today, the Urbana-Champaign Faculty Senate is meeting to discuss “admissions-related policy” at Illinois, and they will vote on proposals about the future well-being of our campus.

Besides students, the faculty is what makes our University a great institution. These individuals are irreplaceable.

The senate may vote to remove President White and Chancellor Herman from their posts as leaders of the University. Then again, they may not. However, whatever their decisions, the Board of Trustees must heed their vote. Though the board makes the final decision, the voice of the faculty should inform, if not determine, that decision.

Which is easier to replace: around 3,000 displeased faculty members or one University president? Three thousand faculty members or one chancellor?

The faculty’s opinion on the admissions controversy is extremely important. That cannot be stressed enough.

There are teachers at the University that we, as students, will remember for the rest of our lives. There are instructors that will help us become what we once only dreamed of being. It might be hard to find someone on this campus who could say President White or Chancellor Herman had a lasting, personal effect on their educational decisions. Except, perhaps, those they helped wrongly admit.

Instead, it is our teachers who we are most in touch with, and whose thoughts on this situation really matter to us. They are the closest to us, and they are the University’s backbone.

Every year, there is a huge turnover within the student population. Thousands come in as freshmen; thousands leave as graduated seniors. Our University faculty members are the closest thing to a constant that this University has. They have worked under multiple presidents and multiple chancellors. We would like to thank them for representing us, the students, in a place and on an issue that we officially cannot weigh in.

The Board of Trustees should realize how smoothly an institution can run when the administration and faculty are on the same page, when leaders are respected and when educators are in a position of power. The board should also note how poorly a University can operate when two of the leading officials are not respected by those they lead. We can only hope the faculty are truthful during these meetings and make decisions that are in the best interest of students and the University they have chosen.