Dear Editor and Fellow Dickinsonians,

My name is Chris Jones, and I write not only as your student body president but also a fellow concerned student. As many of you will probably have read or heard, earlier this week Student Senate’s initiative to reduce or eliminate the PE requirement was voted down during the faculty meeting. The failed proposal represented three years worth of work for not only me but many others in the Student Senate. I began my work on this issue in the Fall of 2015 and continued up until it was voted down this past Tuesday. I would be lying if I said I did not have a personal interest in this issue, but my concern goes beyond Tuesday’s vote. Throughout my time at Dickinson, the idea of shared governance has been continually highlighted. When asked what I think shared governance means, I point to Dickinson’s unique tradition of student involvement in All-College committees such as APSC [Academic Planning and Standards Committee], ESLC [Enrollment and Student Life Committee], or P&B [Planning and Budget]. Elected students are given the privilege of sitting on these committees, and representing the student body. Our utility is something I have not questioned until today.

As I reflect on the vote to maintain a broken graduation requirement I think about the countless hours of work that students, faculty, and administrators poured into this proposal, the strength of our argument, and the various committees it navigated to reach the floor of the faculty meeting. It pains me to compare the three years of work, which went into preparing this argument to the 50 minutes of discussion, which decided its fate, featuring debate, which was largely not informed by the Senate proposal provided in the supplementary documents.

Many students have asked me how we move forward from this failure, and how the Student Senate can respond. My recommendation, as always is to trust in Dickinson’s shared governance, in the fact that students have a seat at the table, and vote in most decisions. This failure, however, has made me question this notion. Student participation in shared governance has been pushed to the background, and in the matters, which are most pressing to us, we are largely powerless.

To the faculty reading this, and more importantly, the faculty who voted against this resolution. We as students made our case, did our homework, and came prepared. We respect you as mentors, and as a component of our shared governance, but in return, I ask that we receive this same respect. Especially in situations where students have no vote, I ask you to look beyond your idealistic views of what the college was and instead consider the data we spent so long compiling for you. In short, I ask that you do your homework.

Submitted by Chris Jones ’19, 

President of Student Senate