SA retreat sets new agenda for change

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by Felisa Yang

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The retreat, traditionally held out of town, took place in the Shepherd School of Music.

This is the first time that the students have met with the faculty to jointly discuss issues at the retreat.

SA Internal Vice President Mike Munson was impressed by the faculty's participation.

"The most impressive thing was that we got two deans and a provost," Munson said. "It's a sign of increased communication between the administration and students."

SA President Maryana Iskander said, "It's an important credit to the university to recognize the fact that few other university administrations would come in on a weekend.

"The faculty must be commended for sharing their honest assessments of students," Iskander said. "I haven't seen that kind of interaction since I've been at Rice."

The group broke into several sessions which addressed a wide range of issues including the future of Fondren Library, the revamping of the introductory physics courses, athlete/non-athlete relations, teaching and the tenure system.

Several SA senators felt that the highlight of the weekend was the panel discussion regarding tenure and the rewards system. According to Munson, the session was "really explosive," and involved a heated discussion between Provost David Auston and English Professor Dennis Huston. The discussion was based on the argument over whether teaching, in addition to research, is properly considered when granting tenure.

According to Jones College junior Nate Blair, the panel conducted "the most emotional discussion [he had] ever seen happen at Rice.

"I think it shocked Auston to see how students felt," Blair said. "That's a good thing because the direct contact between students and administration needs to happen more often."

Iskander felt optimistic that some of the recommendations and suggestions made during the retreat could be implemented within two months. Blair expressed more caution in this regard .

"If things go like last year, I would tend to say that not everything on the list is going to get done," Blair said. "But by giving more guidance like they did this year, instead of leaving it wide open, more will get done."

Munson felt that this year's retreat differed from those of previous years because it took a more active stance on the issues.

"Last year, we did more of a general brainstorming of a laundry list of issues and less development of individual issues," Munson said. "At this year's retreat, though, we created a blueprint for changes to be made."

Teddy Kapur, the Hanszen College senator, said, "It was a productive weekend, but I only hope that our many plans get carried out."

This item appeared in the News section of the September 20, 1996 issue.

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