Secrets, secrets

University officials consistently withhold information, leaving disappointed students in the dark.

The current system to apply for space appears to be convoluted and unorganized, and student input apparently is not part of the decision-making.

We wish we could tell you all the details of the situation, but unfortunately, we still don’t know everything, and our efforts to find out have been fruitless.

In the search for a multimedia lab, communication department officials chose to move the Patriot Talon newsroom, HPR 274, last summer.

University administrators informed communication department officials that the only space available is a portable building on Campus Drive across from the Art Studio Complex.

Editorial board members met with Dr. Dennis Cali, communication department chair, and Dr. Ken Wink, College of Arts and Sciences interim dean, Feb. 16 to finally clarify the circumstances.

However, the board left the meeting with more questions than answers.

Wink and Cali said they learned a future Space Allocation Committee would solve the problem by allowing us to appeal for better accommodations.

However, the committee already exists, unknown at the time to Wink and Cali. If the chairman and dean didn’t know about it, then it’s safe to assume many others don’t know about the committee either.

Wink later informed us that the committee’s first meeting is in March and the chair is Provost Peter Fos, who is currently looking to leave the University.

His departure will further complicate the already difficult process.

Space is a precious commodity on campus, and every organization should be informed of the allotment process.

We first received a proposal for the relocation of our newsroom, and we were lead to believe the decision would be our choice.

After visiting the site, we respectfully declined what we thought was an offer for several reasons, including the following:

» The new site’s location isolates us from the hub of campus activity. Since the newspaper’s primary purpose is to inform the campus community, it should be nearer to the University Center.

» The distant location not only will discourage journalism majors from joining our staff, but also eliminates the benefit of faculty input.

» Uprooting the Patriot Talon headquarters from the communication department will be a detriment, stunting our growth and productivity as a collegiate publication.

However, a few weeks after receiving the proposal, our adviser informed us that officials ignored our decision and made the move mandatory.

Despite disagreeing, we respected the decision but had questions about the move. No one we spoke with had any answers or information.

Specifically, we were concerned about the cost of moving the newsroom, and who would pay for it.

After our budget was cut last semester, we hardly have the funds to publish the newspaper, let alone renovate and move a newsroom.

At our meeting with Wink and Cali, they assured us we would probably not be responsible for the costs.

However, as usual, we cannot find a University official who can confirm that assurance.

As previously stated, space is a commodity, and we believe administrative officials have excluded us, and many others, from the allotment process.

Only two organizations on campus represent the entire student body—the Student Government Association and the Patriot Talon.

SGA was fortunate enough to receive a prime location in the University Center when administrators began allotting space. The Patriot Talon was not so lucky.

While we are happy for SGA and understand space allotment is beyond their control, administrators allocated space disproportionately without explanation.

SGA deserves the quality and location of the space they possess, but the Patriot Talon, as the only other student voice, deserves the same recognition.

We would be far more understanding of the situation if we had the opportunity to voice our concerns to administrators.

Unfortunately, solving the problem became more difficult when Dr. Gregg Lassen, former vice president of business affairs, took a position at another university.

Instead of filling the position, officials spread the job among current employees.

In a Feb. 15 statement to faculty and staff, President Rodney Mabry said he would assume some responsibilities of Lassen’s job.

However, when we spoke to Dr. Mabry in December, he said the space issue was not his responsibility, but suggested we contact the department chair and college dean.

And the bureaucratic cycle continued.

When we approach administrators with issues, they send us to subordinate employees, who, in turn, tell us they don’t know and send us back to administrators.

We hope this isn’t a concerted effort to thwart the student newspaper. We hope it’s a mistake, but whatever it is, we still lose.