EDITORIAL: ON PRINCIPLE

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The Student Center was a gift to the students. Shouldn't students run it?

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Despite the celebratory tone, though, all is not right in the "Student Center."

The commemorative photo exhibit in Blair Lounge, installed by the Student Center staff, says that "the Student Center is committed to student self-government." The words are right, but they haven't been matched by actions. Major decisions have repeatedly been made without involving students.

This summer, for example, the Student Center staff appropriated (presumably permanently) a portion of the Student Organizations Workspace for its own use. The Workspace was created as a space students would truly own. But students were not even consulted until the move was a foregone conclusion.

That was not the way it ought to have been. Three years ago, the Student Center Advisory Board was re-formed with the stated aim of giving students control of the building. Its functions included formulating building policies, approving space allocations, setting renovation priorities and programming. SCAB has mutated, though, into an alternate Rice Program Council, responsible for elaborate programming and little else. In the process, its influence has dwindled.

The Student Center has made a lot of progress, due in large part to dedicated administrators. The goal of student control should not be forgotten. The staff needs to actively seek out student input, especially in decisions whose effects will last for years. The Leys laid the groundwork for a great addition to the Rice campus. We must make sure their gift lives up to its promise.

This item appeared in the Opinion section of the October 4, 1996 issue.

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