Page 1.indd - Wingspan

10
Wingspan
opinion
October 10, 2011
wingspan.lccc.wy.edu
Wingspan
Co-Editors
Will Hebert
Shawn Havel
Online Editor
Jeffrey Pallak
Katie Blaser
Managing Editor
Farishna Brown
Graphics Editor
Susann Robbins
News Editor
Matt Rooney
A&E Editor
Jennifer Stogsdill
A&E Writer/Photograher
Bre Brown
A&E Writer
Cody D. Medrano
Features Editor
Careyanne Johnson
Photography Editor
Hannah White
Sports Writer
Mathew McKay
Sports Writer
Jeff Frerich
Sports Writer
Char Lessenger
Photographer
James Taylor
Photographer
Amy Walker
Advertising Manager
Advisers
Rosalind Schliske
J. L. O’Brien
National
Pacemaker
Finalist
Phone: (307) 778-1304
Fax: (307) 778-1177
wingspan@lccc.wy.edu
©2011
Wingspan (ISSN 1093-2844) is
a monthly newspaper for Laramie
County Community College
and the community, written
and edited by journalism
students with contributions
from other students, college
faculty and staff members
and community residents.
The opinions expressed are
those of the authors and do
not necessarily reflect the
opinions of the staff, students
or faculty of the college.
Wingspan is a member of the
Associated Collegiate Press.
It is printed by Cheyenne
Newspapers, Inc.
Contributions Policy
Wingspan welcomes
letters provided libelous,
profane or otherwise unprincipled.
Letters should
be typed, double-spaced,
signed by the author and
include a phone number for
verification. A digital copy is
preferred.
Wingspan reserves the
right to edit all letters submitted
because of the available
space or the reasons
stated above. Contributions
made before Oct. 17 may be
submitted to:
Wingspan
Laramie County Community
College
1400 East College Drive
Cheyenne, Wyo. 82007
Students at
Laramie County
Community
College may be saying,
“Yo quiero viajes
internacionales,” but
they may have to settle
for a trip to a Taco Bell
in Cheyenne.
That’s because
LCCC’s recent attempts
to address
issues on campus have
resulted in a number
of policies, rules and
statements being revised
with unintended
consequences.
During the past
year or so, the LCCC
administration has
experienced a handful
of problems that were
addressed with newly
created or revised
policies, rules and
statements. Most of
these have undergone
revision because of
faculty, administrative
or board requests.
Undoubtedly, some
needed updating.
However, LCCC has
created at least one
policy and a statement
that have become
solutions to treat
symptoms, and the
results have created
unintended consequences
Faculty stiffled
Employees have
been overwhelmed
with requests to provide
feedback to the
proposed revisions,
so much so that some
employees have simply
stopped responding.
But for students the
situation is entirely different.
Students have
absolutely no access
to the Web forums in
which this feedback is
encouraged. Students
can neither contribute
to the forums nor read
other comments that
have been written.
Students don’t even
have access to look
up what policies or
statements are being
considered for change.
Not one person
who was interviewed
could tell Wingspan
where students could
comment on these
policies, nor could
they tell us why. Even
the president, Dr.
Miles LaRowe; the
LCCC attorney and
the public relations
director didn’t know
of an outlet in which
students could engage
in any form of discussion
dealing with these
policies, rules and
statements.
If students cannot
find an outlet, neither
can the community
in which the college is
designed to serve.
A policy and a
statement have caught
our attention: the travel
policy and the civility
statement. These
both have effects on
students, yet we have
nowhere to voice our
opinions about them,
or more important,
we were never given
notification that these
policies were being
changed. No one
seemed aware that for
so long students have
been unable to provide
feedback.
Faculty Senate
president Jeff Schmidl
explained because the
policies were outdated,
it was time for some
of them to be rewritten.
But he didn’t
believe any intentional
negative consequences
have come from the
revisions.
Yet after being
informed the students
have no access to
participate in the revision
process, he said,
“Students should take
action and ask for it.”
Without being aware
of an issue, how can
students take action
Civility denied
Take the civility
statement, for example.
It can be found
in LCCC’s catalog or
in a student planner.
The statement seems
clear and understandable
with no need for
questions:
“LCCC is committed
to learning. We
believe that academic
inquiry, personal
integrity, and respect
for self and others
are the foundation
of the educational
experience. Therefore,
all members of the
campus community
will strive to create a
campus environment
of mutual respect and
high ethical standards.
LCCC students, faculty,
and staff have the right
to experience, and the
responsibility to maintain,
a safe educational
community that is civil
in all aspects of human
relations.”
The way the civility
statement is written
is not the main issue.
Instead the issue is
how the statement is
being used on campus.
LCCC attorney
Tony Reyes said some
people are unhappy
with the civility statement,
but it doesn’t
seem a high priority. A
Editorial
No access, no bueno
Actions necessary to reverse unintended consequences
“Students are affected
when instructors aren’t
allowed to engage
in rigorous discussion
about issues.”
Leif Swanson
LCCC English instructor
few faculty members
disagreed, and College
Council has decided to
tackle it this semester.
“I’m not opposed
to a civility statement;
I am opposed to how
it is being used on
this campus,” said
Leif Swanson, LCCC
English instructor.
“There is evidence
on campus that the
civility statement is
being used to suppress
free speech. People
are being threatened
and in some cases
threatened with punishment.”
Swanson and another
faculty member
who asked to remain
anonymous for fear of
reprisal said an employee
could be reprimanded
for something
as simple as voicing an
opinion or engaging in
rigorous discussion. If
an employee so much
as disagrees with a supervisor,
even in a civil
manner, that employee
could be written up.
The administration
in certain areas of the
college is using this
statement as a way
to keep people quiet,
Swanson said. The
other faculty member
agreed it is important
to have a civility statement,
but the way it is
being used is beginning
to affect faculty
and, in turn, affecting
students.
The faculty member
said, “We no longer
have First Amendment
rights when we work at
LCCC.”
Moreover, Swanson
said it has had a “chilling
effect” throughout
the campus.
“Unfortunately, this
statement has allowed
certain administrators
to suppress free
speech, which has
opened the college up
for serious litigation,”
he warned.
Additional stress
Although defying
the civility statement
is not grounds for termination,
it could very
well become possible
in time. The fact that
an employee could
be declared “uncivil”
and be written up for
voicing an opinion or
suggesting alternatives
someone didn’t want
to hear seems absurd.
But, regardless, after
so many write-ups,
it makes sense an
employee may be
viewed as unfit for his
position.
“Higher education
is founded on free
speech and academic
freedom, and we have
to fight vigorously to
make sure that we are
not being suppressed
in any way,” Swanson
said. “The best outcome
comes from
open discussion, and
if we don’t have free
speech and academic
freedom, we don’t have
a college.”
Swanson pointed
out the irony of the situation
by asking what
could be more uncivil
than the administration
suppressing free
speech
“This is a statement
leftover from a
disgraced president,
and certain administrators
are carrying out
a practice of limiting
academic inquiry, and
this needs to stop,” he
said.
The leaving of
LCCC’s president, Dr.
Darrel Hammon, in
January shows we do
not want to be led this
way, Swanson said. But
what the administration
is doing seems to
indicate the old ways
are still being practiced
at LCCC.
Swanson and Dave
Zwonitzer, another
English instructor at
LCCC, have rewritten
the civility statement,
hoping it will
make a difference.
Swanson said it should
be rewritten to say a
disagreement in itself
does not constitute
incivility. He and
Zwonitzer are working
to reword the
statement to make
it impossible for the
policy to be misused
as it is currently—one
of those unintended
consequences.
The faculty member
who requested
anonymity said it had
been hard finding the
motivation to return
for the fall semester
and be excited about
teaching when these
practices are going on
behind closed doors.
When faculty are
less than enthusiastic,
it affects students, yet
again, another unintended
consequence.
Swanson said he
believed students are
affected when instructors
aren’t allowed to
engage in rigorous discussion
about issues.
In a meeting full
of faculty or staff
members who are
afraid to disagree in a
civil manner, the lack