Alexis Miniat, Contributing Writer
Dear Friends,
As I wrap up my time at Sewanee and prepare to leave student leadership in the prepared hands of those newly elected, I find myself in a time of reflection. What I write here is a collection of my thoughts on the state of Sewanee, both positives and negatives. Though it is not a comprehensive list, nor is it lacking from personal opinion, I believe it is imperative that we take this closer examination, especially in a time filled with frustration and change.
I believe it is good to start with this year’s many successes. First, thanks to the efforts of both student leaders and administrators, consistent transparency issues are being understood and addressed. Dean Betsy Sandlin as Interim Dean of the College met often with student leaders from the Order of the Gown, SGA, Greek Council, the student Trustees and Honor Council to listen and learn about ongoing issues. Provost Wilson invited me and McClain Brooks, President of SGA, to attend a policy review committee meeting so we could discuss the new Peaceful Assembly Policy and the Guest Speaker Policy. Our OG council put these policies on Instagram so more students could see the different components of these policies more easily. Administrators consistently answered yes to students wanting to give feedback and input on the new First Year Experience being launched next fall. We also improved our communication with faculty. The OG Council presented to the Faculty on our results from the First Day textbook surveys to keep them updated on this solution to textbook affordability on campus. We kept the administration updated on our SPARC programming, and community engagement amendment efforts with bi-weekly and monthly meetings with various administrators and actors, including the Dean of Students and the Vice-Chancellor. The SGA and OG council attended community meals at St. Marks to better our relationship with community members. The OG also presented to the Trustees and the Board of Regents each semester, giving updates on these projects and answering their questions about student life. In my four years here I have seen no greater effort from all parties involved to be transparent, and I believe that improvement will continue.
However, this wonderful institution I have been so grateful to call home is not without flaws. As secondary education becomes the forefront of national politics and news, it is evident that there is much work to be done. One of my largest concerns is student apathy. When the Peaceful Assembly Policy emerged, students discussed their issues about the over 24-hour location restrictions and not being able to use academic buildings. However, students on this campus often do not take grievances further than a library couch discussion. In a defining moment of my term, the community engagement amendment proposed by the OG Council failed a campus-wide vote. Students often didn’t see the OG as something beyond an academic society, or did not see value in becoming more community driven. The latter concerns me. Our University is in one of Tennessee’s poorest and most vulnerable counties. We often refer to this bubble effect as the town-gown divide. I am dismayed that our student body voted not to help our neighbors through active service, and fails even to engage in dialogue about these prevalent issues. Who are we to stay quiet and motionless when we have the energy and resources to help and learn? In a similar vein, as campuses around the nation are at the forefront of national politics, our students have stayed virtually silent to the international students, organizations and programming that are now at risk. This is a critical issue that should not be pushed under the rug. The support now needed for our international students and our inclusive programming must be shown by students to demonstrate the importance of this to our campus culture and identity. From local to national issues, students forget the power of their voices on this campus, and too often remain silent even when their opinions are valued.
Large questions need to be asked: Are we as an institution comfortable with sacrificing the name of DEI in order to continue the good work that comes out of those departments and chairs? Or will we subject ourselves to greater scrutiny by rallying around that name? Do we meet this critical moment in higher education with a resilient silence or a loud outcry of protest and stand in unity with other schools? Are we content with not actively supporting the needs of our faculty (adequate, campus housing and competitive pay that keeps them here) which, in return, would benefit us? Should we be silent to organizations like Turning Point USA being formed here? Are we a campus which supports different standards for men and women through differing GPA thresholds for Greek life recruitment? These questions require more than a few student leaders to champion student opinion, but rather a large portion of our student body giving input. Real answers and lasting solutions require robust student dialogue.
Though such questions call on students to be attentive actors, recent policy changes have made it harder for students to be these actors. Less visible assembly spaces for protests that are open for longer than 24 hours and vague consequences for students who participate may limit the ability of students to use assembly as an avenue of change and dialogue. Also, while we have the Bonner/Canale program and Deep and Meaningful Conversation events, these programs don’t always get students to engage in these issues. We must create a more structured way to get students involved. Perhaps, as some students have suggested after our recent referendum failed, the University should create community engagement events as part of our required curriculum, as many colleges have done.
As president of an academic organization, I must also point out the academic disparities on this campus. Even my own organization promotes disparity by giving priority class registration to gowned members. This means that those already academically succeeding get preferred classes and professors while those who may need more support have a harder time getting the same. We must look at alternatives to this benefit of being gowned. Maybe we bring in “gown-out days” where gowned students have an extra reading day or more throughout the year. High textbook
costs also prevent academic success. Many students pay for textbooks out of their own pockets. 72% of students who answered our most recent survey indicated they hadn’t used or hadn’t benefited from First Day bookstore programming. It is important that we examine alternative solutions, such as Open Educational Resources or extending our reserve capacity to reduce textbook prices. Finally, issues happen before students even get here. Our University is expensive, and in the wake of losing meeting full financial need, we risk drawing only students of a certain wealth and status; that may limit the rich conversation a liberal arts education is supposed to inspire. While it is not financially feasible for Sewanee to continue to meet full need, we must continue to admit students from various backgrounds so that our University lives up to a higher standard of community living.
I reflect that it is easy for me to leave you with my thoughts about large issues, and then leave you to solve them. It is the Achilles’ heel of departing leaders to see so much work left undone. And I can offer no easy solutions or advice. But I can emphasize that thoughtful transitions between incoming and outgoing student leaders seem to keep our progress moving forward. One of the most amazing tools I have had in serving as your OG President is the “Order of the Gown Liturgical Calendar.” In 2002, President Britton Buckner wrote that this document is the OG’s “what to do when.” This “Bible of the Gown,” as I like to call it, is full of invaluable information on past Council activities, notes on how to hold the University’s ceremonial mace; letters, speeches and remarks from former presidents; and even step by step instructions on who to talk to about what on campus. Its 106 pages are concrete evidence of the University taking the right steps. It also has provided me with what could have been lost information about steps former presidents have taken to improve this University, and issues they see as salient.
Without such a guide, successive student leaders too often end up having to reinvent the wheel. Progress in student governance and this University depend on each generation passing on what they have learned to the next. Spreading our “Bible of the Gown” tradition to all student governance and groups will help ensure Sewanee students continue the ongoing work of making EQB a reality for all on campus.
In my time at Sewanee it has been a privilege to participate, listen, and advocate for student voices and work on projects that will promote lasting change. I know that this University is well equipped to handle the issues I have presented, and to continue forming the relationships between faculty, staff, students, administration and community members, that will promote a rich community dialogue of solutions and best practices. It has been an absolute honor, and I cannot wait to see how Sewanee continues to progress and thrive.
Always in EQB,
Alexis Miniat