It’s difficult to give up what’s ours.
Recently, students, parents and administrators have split themselves into two hostile camps that cannot see eye to eye about the Student Union-College Office switch—one side feels the switch jeopardizes the quality of student life, while the other sees it as better use of unused space. Though both sides’ opinions have merit, the proposal to switch office spaces is illogical and detrimental to the student body as a whole.
The Parents’ Association (PA) first proposed renovating the college office, currently located in room 225, two years ago to expand services. But Principal Stanley Teitel said the space was too small to be worth renovating. He offered the museum room, adjacent to the college office, and the Student Union (SU) space as alternate venues for the college office. The museum room was rejected early, and the PA set its sights on the SU. But even if the PA does find a suitable space, there is no guarantee Teitel will hire additional college advisors, especially with the recent budget cuts.
The SU, located in room 260 behind the Senior Bar, houses the offices of the SU—which funds many clubs and publications and organizes schools events such as SING!—Big Sibs, Arista, and The Spectator. There is also an outer-office area that is used by clubs and other student organizations to hold meetings and simply relax.
The PA feels the college office’s current services could be expanded with more space. College advisor Patricia Cleary wishes to recruit volunteers to help with the counseling process. The PA also believes the swap will give students more privacy while conversing with college counselors and make the office more attractive for visiting college representatives.
The PA’s goals have merit. The college office, with three secretaries and three college advisors working in a limited space, is cramped and understaffed. The office attempts to provide adequate college counseling to the 692 students in the senior class—as well as juniors during the spring term. Since each successive graduating class has more students, the college office’s task will become even more difficult.
But more space will not necessarily improve the essential services, such as interviews with college advisors and sending transcripts, the college office provides—or increase acceptance rates to colleges. The college office needs more space, but they need more college advisors even more desperately. Importantly, the swap won’t necessarily result in the hiring of any additional counselors since the school’s budget has been cut 1.75 percent, or by 277,000 dollars. More budget cuts are expected as well.
The swap intends to increase privacy by giving the college office soundproof walls, but it also puts the office in a much more central location—right behind the senior bar—where noise levels may create an unforeseen problem. Even though the SU suite is larger, its space would still not be sufficient to hold information sessions or other large meetings that college advisors desire.
The proceedings before the potential switch have gained a tone that worries us immensely. Even after a 10-6 SU vote against further discussions of the switch, Teitel wants to poll students on their position, but seniors will not be allowed to participate. Not only does this display a blatant disregard for the SU, which was elected by the students to represent the students, it also disenfranchises the voters who know the school best.
We sympathize with the plight of the college office and encourage the exploration of other options with regard to lightening their load or expanding their office, but we cannot—and will not—support the proposed office swap. It can only be detrimental to student unity and the overall quality of student life.
The SU’s central location epitomizes Stuyvesant’s tradition of independent students. Using the space as a college office reinforces the constant pressure placed on college.
The college office needs space, but the SU is not where to find it. The SU represents the student body and serves each member of the Stuyvesant community whether through Arista tutoring, Big Sibs, school dances or candy sales. It is also the sole place in the building specifically reserved for student use. The proposed switch undermines this community—a community that is very difficult to build or find at Stuyvesant. We ask all parties involved to recognize the student attachment to this space and table the move that has created such fiery opposition.