Syracuse University Outing Club

Syracuse University Outing Club


This is a letter I just sent to Chancellor Cantor, after our being informed that we were moved:


May 5, 2005

Dear Chancellor Cantor,

I am writing to you on behalf of the Syracuse University Outing Club, aka SUOC, and all the students of your university. Since I have read your response to a letter from Ed Grossman, I am sure you are aware of the recent determination to recategorize SUOC as a club sport. This was done against the wishes of all the members of SUOC as well as against the wishes of the Student Association, SA. My concern with this issue, aside from the future implications to SUOC’s management, funding, and leadership, is the much more basic flagrant disrespect that has been shown to your students and I ask you to postpone your decision on this matter in order to amend the situation.

I was always under the impression that the purpose of education is to prepare students of today to be leaders of tomorrow. I believe this to especially be the job of universities such as yours. How exactly are you preparing your students to become leaders if you completely ignore their voice and give them no opportunity to impact the decisions that affect them? I believe you should be fostering their sense of leadership and initiative, rather than trying to crush it.
Most concerning to me on this matter has been the attitude of Ass. Dean of Students Roy Baker. He has been blatantly rude to leaders of SUOC and completely disrespectful of students in general. He has openly said that he doesn’t trust the students, that it is his “job not to trust the students,” as he stated in a meeting with representatives from SUOC, SA, and Rec Services. Following the delivery of a letter stating the switch of SUOC to being a club sport, Dean Baker refused to even meet with SUOC representatives when they requested to speak with him with the assistance of SA. The representatives were asked to please leave, allowing Mr. Baker to speak with the SA rep alone. When the appropriateness of this was questioned, they were informed that it was appropriate because he asked them too. I find this behavior repugnant. To the best of my knowledge, college students are almost all legal adults. They can vote, they can go to war and fight for their country, and they should be treated as adults in their dealings with administration. Since when did it become acceptable to treat people so crassly? I don’t put up with that kind of behavior from my seven-year-old nephew and I fail to see why I should put up with it from an administrator. That is simply basic manners and application of the Golden Rule.
Also, Mr. Baker had stated in the aforementioned meeting that the university did not wish to back SUOC into anything by taking action at the end of the semester. Yet that is exactly what has happened, by passing down a decision on the day after the last day of classes, when all students should be preparing for exams. Moreover, the timing of the whole discussion was poor. The first serious mention of moving SUOC to club sports came in the form of an ambush at the budget meeting for SA, where SUOC Budget Chair Megan Jonas was defending her budget. Mr. Baker acted completely inappropriately by motioning that the SUOC budget be tabled. Administrators cannot make motions at SA meetings. As any administrator should know, the last two weeks of any semester are incredibly stressful and filled with schoolwork. By springing this issue on SUOC at that time, your administration put the students involved in a precarious position. They were forced to either pay attention to their studies or to their club. For many SUOCers, the club is not just a hobby or a pastime, it’s a family and a way of life. I feel it is absurd, irresponsible and dishonest for administrators to ask a student to choose between their studies and their beloved club at such a time.

In light of the current situation and the behavior of your staff, I feel it would be best to postpone the recognition of SUOC as a club sport until the fall semester, in order to more fully take into consideration the wishes of your student body. There are valid concerns that have not been fully addressed, such as budget. Where is the money to come from? Also, the question that burns in the back of my mind is this: Over and over, your administration has professed that they do not wish to change the structure of SUOC and that the club operates well as is. SUOC has been told that nothing about the running of the club will change. Why then must we move at all? Can we not consider having a liaison/ advisor under Rec Services without merging with them? Please take the time to respond to these questions and be well informed from all sides of the issue. This is not a matter that should be decided upon without lengthy discussion with all parties involved: SUOC, Rec Services, and SA. Perhaps your decision will still be the same then, but at least you will have fully considered the wishes of your students and not lead them to believe that their administration neither respects nor cares about them. Give them the knowledge that when they leave your institution, they can make a difference in the world around them. That is your responsibility as an educator, after all.

Sincerely,
Karina L. Conkrite
SUOCer, community member