by Benjamin Seeley ‘14
Opinion Editor
Happy as I am with the recent changes made around campus, I’d be remiss to let it stop there when so much remains waiting to be fixed. Not that Ignatius is in desperate need of sweeping reforms or anything like that, but the addition of boat shoes to the school dress code or devices to the classrooms just isn’t enough. So let’s go further.
Before I get into what’s needing reform, I’ll take the moment to comment on the new direction the Opinion page seeks to take this year. It’s the general consensus here at The Eye that our paper ought to have a voice, and not one that’s political. Far more deeply, we want to establish our paper as one that works to best serve the students, and not one that caves in to the satisfaction and stagnation of obsequity, because ultimately, that’s the most dangerous of destinations.
So without further ado, let’s get to the (metaphorical, and not hostile) punch. Here’s what ought to be fixed:
1. All-student emails should be restored to all students and faculty.
While not everyone necessarily knows that they’ve been stripped of their virtual right to speak to the school, you have been. So be angry. The school (following a certain incident involving a certain member of the Class of 2016 who pointed out certain Church doctrines and their ramifications on a certain smoky, school-sanctioned tradition) decided to unilaterally—and quietly—remove the ability for students to send emails via the all-school network, in so doing silencing the voices of those hoping to make announcements for clubs, concerns, etc. (Though, let me say now, that the upcoming advent of the Haiku forum rectifies this almost totally. I’m winking at you, administration . . .)
While I certainly understand the reasons behind removing the all-student email, I think one of two alternatives should have taken place: the students should have been alerted of their disenfranchisement, or there should have been a statement issued warning students (with the threat of severe punishment) against sending any future unnecessary all-school emails. It’s the least that could have been done.
2. Less emphasis should be placed on the correction of trivial violations of school policy.
Yes, it’s nice to be awakened by the sound of Mr. Hennessy’s megaphone just after first period, as he mockingly turns around students hoping to take a shortcut down Loyola’s front stairs; it really does make my Monday mornings.
But aren’t there grosser, more pressing matters to attend to? I mean, aren’t there better things the Dean could be doing with his time than waiting to pounce on students unknowingly violating a rule as venial as it is esoteric? I think not. I think the school community would be best served if handbook-enforcers were to correct students performing actual moral transgressions. But that’s just me.
3. The administration should be more open and transparent with its students.
Obviously, I don’t believe all administrative knowledge should be available to the students, but I think that the school should be significantly more willing to have a dialogue. Grave as it may be to admit and discuss, there have been serious issues that have impacted Ignatius in the past few years. But rather than discuss these matters with the students directly, letters to parents have become the standard mode of promulgation. While these affairs were perhaps awkward conversations to have with students, that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have been had at all. Because when that conversation is foregone entirely, assumptions are made and fears solidified.
And I don’t want that to be the Ignatius I know.
