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Notes on '96-'97
by Laura Walbrink
Well, here we are at the end of the 1996-97 school year, and what do we have to show for the last ten months? Many changes, but also a lot of recycled headlines.
New to the 'U': A president. A football coach. A residence hall (Roy Wilkins Hall). The men's basketball team made the Final Four. Web registration. The highest-caliber first-year class ever. The faculty voted on unionization. Campus Circulator and Campus Connector. The UPass. The four-year graduation guarantee. William Brody's departure (the end of re-engineering?). Coffman renovation. University College usurps Continuing Education and Extension. Biomedical Engineering and Basic Sciences building. A new Blimpie's. Depression problems on the rise. Pay raises for faculty.
Old issues: Tenure reform. Improving diversity. Low graduation rates. Low retention rates. Tuition hikes. Bus route cuts. Student services fees increase. Bookstore scams. Long, cold winter. Bike thefts. Backpack thefts. Graffiti. Rollerblading/skateboarding. Rude bicyclists. Rude pedestrians. Rude drivers. MSA. U2000. The Fairview/Riverside Hospital merger. Dinkytown construction. Credit card debt. Cigarettes. Drugs. Sex. Sexually transmitted diseases. "Expanded housing" in residence halls. Parking.
Next year, let's work to resolve some of these long-standing controversies, complaints, and weaknesses so we can move forward. Administrators, seek student and faculty input and feedback. Students, we need to shed our reputation for apathy. We've got promise, but we also face challenges. Incoming students have an excellent average class rank, but the 'U' must remember its commitment to opportunity and accessibility. We need to improve student retention rates, across the University but particularly for students of color. We have a quality faculty, but we must preserve tenure to remain attractive to top professors.
The future's looking pretty bright. The 'U' has top academic programs and research facilities. September brings new students, new administrators, and a new perspective. In the meantime, enjoy the green campus lawns and warm weather. See you next fall.
