The Knox Student

Well, it’s the last term of the year, and the last term at Knox for the seniors. So our question is, what are you going to change before Knox lets out for the year? Summer has a way of making Knox forget things, so we need to get things done before it comes.

Here is a very short list of changes we would like to see addressed this term.

A healthy discussion about Greek life

This conversation has gotten off to a terrible start. Some people said the conversation was not worth having at all, but the faculty ended up voting to stop Greek expansion until the fall. It seems to us that the level of conversation should have landed somewhere in the middle. Now we fear that the opinions and concerns of this supposedly “vocal minority” of faculty members and students concerned about Greek expansion (and Greek life in general) will not be considered with the thought and reflection they deserve. After all, every organization on campus could use criticism, because we can all improve. But now some students are turned off to listening because they feel the faculty actions were hostile. And poor ATP and WOI (and maybe GQ if things are not settled in time) are caught in the crossfire of this discussion gone wrong. They were not the problem, but they are now the only ones facing tangible consequences. We need to sit down again and rethink what exactly we need to accomplish as a whole community.

Action on sustainability

While we feel really bad for the frogs by Roger Taylor’s farm, there are blatant environmental problems going on all over campus that can be solved so easily. We don’t necessarily need another task force, we need ashtrays to stop the intense cigarette butt problem, recyclable containers in all our dining services facilities and a recycling bin next to every trash can. We started this conversation with energy in the fall, and instead of helping anything, we got rid of the ashtrays within 15 feet of doorways in accordance with the January law change, although nobody actually enforces the 15 feet law. The lack of ashtrays has caused a whole new massive environmental problem. There does not seem to be a huge reason why this cannot be fixed by the term’s end.

Grievance Panel reform

The Knox Student ran a series of articles in 2006 about students who were concerned about problems with the Grievance Panel. Then summer came and nothing has changed. Tuesday, alumna Megan Gamble released her long-awaited research paper on the Panel, and it is time to take some action. From what we can tell, many of the problems discussed two years ago have not gone away.

This is a short list of what we would like to see. What do you want to change, and what can you do to make that happen?

About “Thoughts from the Embers”

“Thoughts from the Embers” is the consensus opinion of The Knox Student editorial board unless otherwise noted.