Cheers to Andrea Pelano ’99 and the Freshman Year Experience program, which hosted a night at the Quick Center last week for Pelano to recount her traumatic story of being sexually assaulted at the beach while an undergraduate. Hopefully the FYE program can use events like these to help freshmen, and in fact all students, take a more serious look at their own development. Although Pelano’s story is a tragic one, sharing her painful experience with the Class of 2006 in an attempt to help others is a brave and commendable action.
Boos to the Athletic Department and the office of Campus Operations about the circumstances surrounding the closing of Lessing Field for the fall season. Although officials in both offices downplayed the severity of the field problems, the facts surrounding the field’s construction seem to support the theory that construction was rushed to completion at the expense of quality. With a $1.3 million price tag and some soccer games now played on Varsity Field, an astroturf surface much more destructive to an athlete’s body than grass, it is hard to believe that the men’s and women’s soccer teams will have to endure yet another season in purgatory.
Cheers to the Levee and its extensive staff of students and administrators who are striving to make the atmosphere there much more sociable and attractive for students. In recent years the Levee has not been a primary choice for students on campus looking for a good time, but by hosting local restaurants and being more receptive to student input in planning events, the staff is making leaps forward in creating a niche for the Levee as an on-campus institution.
Boos to the current system of academic advising, which leaves many students in the dark in matters of vital academic importance. With students concerned that some faculty rush through the process and others saying they have not met with their advisors since freshman year, the facts suggest that a comprehensive analysis and overhaul of the process may be necessary. Hopefully, with FUSA’s new initiatives and the work of faculty, and the administration the problem can be addressed in a timely manner so that students aren’t shortchanged during the coming advising periods.
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