The following pieces, written by the editorial editors, reflects the majority opinion of the editorial board.
Today, David Budig and the Board of Trustees will vote on whether Gregory P. Crawford will replace David Hodge as Miami University's 22nd president.
In all likelihood, he will be voted in unanimously. The search is over. He's already here. Today, we have a new president.
The editorial board attended two of Crawford's four forums this week, and our frustration increased with every question he neglected to answer.
Crawford seems to be laboring under the delusion that everything at Miami University is terrific. But we can't blame him just yet.
Crawford has based his outlook off of the package presented to him by an administration and Board of Trustees that we feel have grown increasingly out of touch with the needs of the student body.
The result: he has expressed a lot of excitement about different aspects of Miami without knowing if those aspects were presented to him accurately or not.
The benefit of the doubt we're willing to provide will only go so far. We're talking to you now, President Crawford.
You should know what Miami's problems are long before coming into this job. So, as you prepare to occupy your new office in Roudebush, there are a few things we think you should be aware of.
Miami has a Greek problem. It was less than a month ago when more than 20 student arrests were linked with fraternity recruitment. The students were arrested for myriad reasons, one of which was intoxication.
The Blood Alcohol Contents of three students were recorded between .245 and .3 - levels considered to be just drinks away from "life threatening," according to the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
Miami has a drinking problem. You should have done your research here, because programming on the weekends (aka Late Night Miami) and pre-enrollment classes (aka AlcoholEdu) have done nothing to solve that problem.
Miami has a diversity problem. And when professors ask you half a dozen questions about what you are going to do to solve it, talking around them in theoretical, bullet-pointed lists is not the answer they are looking for.
Miami doesn't have a strong athletics program, unlike Notre Dame. However, there has been a movement over the last few years to expand funding for the university's intercollegiate athletics programs, often at the expense of current academic endeavors.
Miami has an outspoken and, currently, jaded faculty. In our Feb. 12 editorial, the editorial board wrote, "So many faculty members are disillusioned with the university right now. Instead of hitting the ground running, Crawford's first task is going to be earning the trust of the faculty who have to work under him."
The best way you can do that is to be honest. You don't have to know all the answers, but don't act like you do if you don't. This whole process has been so secretive, the least you can do for the people it rolled over is tell it how it is.