October - Wingspan

12 WingspanWingspanopinionEditorialOctober 12, 2009lccc.wy.edu/wingspanCo-EditorsTiffany RazoDominic BenintendeEditorialKolby VerbeckOnline EditorSeneca FlowersGraphics EditorAlyx BenintendeAd/Business ManagerPaul OliezOnline Sports EditorStephanie MaasMultimedia EditorKristine JacksonOpinions EditorCody BaileyA&E EditorStephon ParkerCo-Sports EditorCody TuckerCo-Sports EditorNichole GradyCampus EditorTravis ShermanPhotography EditorAdvisersRosalind SchliskeJ. L. O’BrienNationalPacemakerFinalistPhone: (307) 778-1304Fax: (307) 778-1177wingspan@lccc.wy.edu©2009Wingspan (ISSN 1093-2844) isa monthly newspaper for LaramieCounty Community Collegeand the community, writtenand edited by journalismstudents with contributionsfrom other students, collegefaculty and staff membersand community residents.The opinions expressed arethose of the authors and donot necessarily reflect theopinions of the staff, studentsor faculty of the college.Wingspan is a member of theAssociated Collegiate Press.It is printed by CheyenneNewspapers, Inc.Contributions PolicyWingspan welcomes lettersprovided they are not libelous,profane or otherwiseunprintable. Letters shouldbe typed, double-spaced,signed by the author andinclude a phone number forverification. A copy on disk ispreferred.Wingspan reservesthe right to edit all letterssubmitted because of availablespace or the reasonsstated above. Contributionsmade before Nov. 9 may besubmitted to:WingspanLaramie County CommunityCollege1400 East College DriveCheyenne, Wyo. 82007Dinnerat theLCCChouseCartoon byDominicBenintendeMore and more,Laramie CountyCommunity Collegehas felt like a homegoing through a roughdivorce or at leastone of the argumentsthat leads to a majorseparation. Starringas the arguing parentsare the administrationand faculty/staff, withthe children caughtin the middle of thisdysfunctional homeportrayed by thestudents.The LCCC campusclimate survey, takenon Aug. 19 during anemployee inservice,indicated a causeof this divorce-likediscomfort mightultimately stem fromthe high percentageof employees whoexpressed dissatisfaction.The statement“Morale and job satisfactionare high” wasmet with only threestrongly agrees, 33agrees and 57 neutrals.It received 56 disagreesand 66 stronglydisagrees.Another statementon the surveyasked, “At LCCC,there is a climate oftrust among faculty,staff, and administrators.”This questionreceived only twoInstructorAre we headed to divorce, or can we work it out?strongly agrees, 42agrees and 47 neutrals,but 71 disagreesand 55 stronglydisagrees.“I feel comfortablespeaking out on issuesaffecting the college”received 14 stronglyagrees, 45 agrees and57 neutrals. On thedisagreement side, itreceived 62 disagreesand 40 strongly disagrees.It is believed bysome employees thatthose who chose neutraldid so in an effortto avoid answeringaltogether.But we at Wingspandidn’t need a survey totell us this.Although everyoneloves to criticize themedia, it is ironic howthose same critics willbe among the first atthe media’s doorstepto complain whentheir voices are notheard.During the pastyear, faculty, staff andeven those withinthe administrationhave been vocal toWingspan about whatnews we should cover.However, most of thetime, these peoplewish to remain anonymous;some wereactually fearful of losingtheir jobs. WithoutNo, umm,I saidI was neutral.a voice, they felt theirconcerns would havea venue in our printpublication or its sisteronline version.But it is not the positionor responsibilityof the students to sidewith the parent theylike better, the controlling“father”—theadministration—orthe passive aggressive“mother”—thefaculty/staff.LCCC’s trusteesmust be the counselorsbetween thebickering “parents.”Most students havecome to LCCC witha common goal—toprepare for the outsideworld through earninga degree from theinstitution and transferringto a four-yearcollege or universityor gaining the skills requiredto enter the jobmarket immediately.However, it isdiscouraging to us“children” to see ourrole models grow sofar apart that a climatesurvey shows a lackof trust, of mutual respectand of communication.In additionto gaining expertise insubject areas, studentsare supposed to belearning professionalism,but it seemswe just get what weI should runaway.Studentalready learned inhigh school from ourgossiping, immatureteenage peers.But this domestic“bickering” hasescalated to the pointthat students not onlyhear the arguing inthe other room butare actually broughtinto it. Sometimes weare used as a nurturingsupport group bythose who are supposedto nurture andsupport us.The questions onmany people’s mindsappear to be “Howdid the college getto this point? Whydidn’t someone dosomething sooner?”Unfortunately, manyof the people askingthese questionsare probably also thepeople who didn’t doanything.As Heather Parks,the LCCC AssociatedStudent Governmentcampus outreachcoordinator, toldthe LCCC Board ofTrustees during adinner meeting onSept. 30, the studentsare sensing the tensionbetween faculty/staff and administration.That ASG senatorplanted the seed thatnight, and we hopeI heard you saidyou didn’t feelcomfortablespeaking outon issues.Administrationit’ll grow within theminds of the boardmembers.This is not the firsttime that the college’sdirty laundry has beenleft on the line for theneighbors to see.On Sunday, Sept.20, the WyomingTribune-Eagle publisheda guest columntitled “Fear reigns atLCCC.” Jim Weis, aretired LCCC Englishinstructor, criticizedLCCC President DarrelHammon for stressing“management insteadof leadership.”“Mr. Hammon usesfear to promote hisagenda and control employees,”Weis wrote.Weis hoped that“students and parentscoping with rising feeswon’t notice moraleproblems at LCCC.”However, it’s toolate. We’ve seen thebeds have been pulledapart. We know the“thrill is gone,” and“she’s just not that intoyou.”Days later onFriday, Sept. 25, theWyoming Tribune-Eagle wrote its owneditorial, asking thetrustees to follow thesmoke to see if there istruly a fire burning atLCCC.While we agree thetrustees need to becomethe metaphoricalmarriage counselor,students cannot sitidly by and hope thatmom and dad will kissand make up.While it was braveof Parks to speakout on behalf of herfellow students, thesenate must taketheir conversationsand concerns out ofArp 168 and into thetrustees’ board room.For starters, senatorsmust attend en massethe Oct. 13 meeting inwhich trustees will interviewcandidates forthe open trustee seat.Attending the boardmeetings needs to becomea habit for ASGso the trustees canturn to them for studentinput. No otherstudents are attendingthese meetings.If Mom and Dadcannot find a wayto get along, it maynot be long beforethe “the children” gosomewhere else forguidance.The divorce is notfinalized. There is stilltime. The trusteesneed to help Momand Dad figure outwhether they can workit out. Students justwant to feel comfortableat home.