Miami should foster sense of community in Oxford
An institution of higher learning is invested by the public trust to use superior intelligence and vision as guiding principles in search of the common good. Of course, it is difficult to assess to what degree community and environment affect the common good. At first thought, however, we all understand that the "health" of the single "community," which is Oxford and Miami University, naturally includes the health of the workers in the dining halls who raise their families here, as well as the health of the workers in the restaurants, bars, copy shops, book stores, etc. who call this place home.
Simultaneously, Miami loses its campus community when students are encouraged to move off campus and ride shuttles into town, and when "connector roads" are proposed to accommodate this extra traffic and lead to the destruction of the rural character and small-town atmosphere of Oxford. It would be interesting to take a poll among Miami students asking them to respond to the question of "the common good." Such a poll should ask the students to what degree the rural character of the university influenced their decision to come here.
It could also be argued that Miami has some responsibility for the death of Oxford's Mile Square-in terms of the loss of a true community because of family residents moving to the outskirts of town where they are unable to live in close proximity to work and schools. Many of these families moved in order to escape all-night parties, noise and the trash left behind on lawns. This exodus caused the city of Oxford to lose its tax base and community to lose its year-round heart.
Does Miami University, which was founded as a rural institution, have any interest in projecting its rural heritage into the 21st century and beyond? Or, does it aspire to have an urban environment, with students and faculty "commuting" to campus, thus moving away from its original identity? Maybe it is for the university to develop a clear policy on its relationship to the larger community with the city and township and to assist Oxford in all matters pertaining to community quality and growth management. In so doing, its credibility as a leader among similar institutions would increase. We believe it is time for Miami University to take a stand on this subject. Otherwise, words such as "heritage" become hollow and lose their meaning.
JEROME STANLEYstanlej@muohio.eduErika Nelson
Oxford voters need to view local school buildings
Last year, the Talawanda Board of Education hired the Skillman Company to make an evaluation of the Kramer Elementary School building. Early this year, in February I believe, the Skillman people pronounced the Kramer building in "good" condition.
Then in the spring, the school board asked the Ohio Department of Education to evaluate the Kramer building. These people said that Kramer Elementary needed too much work and that it would be more economical to simply replace it.
Of course the questions are: Who do you believe? Who is right?
To the best of my knowledge, the school board did not hire an outside consultant to evaluate the condition of the high school-like they did with Kramer Elementary. However, the board itself is telling us that the high school building needs to be replaced. So what should we do?
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I think that everyone in this school district who is going to vote on the school issue next month should do what I did. Take some time and go to Kramer School and to the high school and give these buildings a really good look. Go into classrooms and restrooms. Check out the cafeterias and the furnace rooms. Walk the corridors and sniff the air. Check out the gyms. Walk around the outside of the buildings and check out the walls for cracks. Look at the windows closely.
The outside consultants were divided on the question of Kramer Elementary and no outside evaluation was made of the high school building. It is up to us to decide this issue Nov. 6. Please take some time and prepare yourself to vote wisely.
John M. TrumpFormer Talawanda School Board Membertrumpjm1@muohio.edu
ASG funding policy merits review for Habitat events
I am writing to express my extreme disappointment in Associated Student Government's (ASG) recent decision to withdraw funding from student trips taking place during academic breaks. As the former president of Miami University Habitat for Humanity, I am appalled that ASG would choose to allocate its student-group funding in this way.
While I certainly understand the constraints faced by ASG in assessing student-funding requests, this policy change has had very unfortunate ramifications for some of Miami's largest and most active student groups. The leadership and teamwork skills Habitat's trips provide for students are an invaluable part of their undergraduate experience. Since graduating from Miami, I have drawn on these experiences countless times, and I feel that it would be a major disservice to Miami's current and future students to deny them similar experiences.
As a result of these policies, many applicants interested in attending a university that will provide them with great service opportunities-in addition to an excellent education-will likely turn away from Miami. It is unfortunate that these students will miss out on the wonderful collegiate experiences Miami provides. But even more regrettable is the realization that Miami will lose these students' commendable contributions to the university community. Instead, many stellar applicants, interested in supplementing their academic experience with ones outside the classroom, and outside of Oxford, will likely choose to attend universities that wholeheartedly support such activities. Rather than benefiting all Miami students, it seems to me that these policies are depriving all students not only of incredible opportunities to serve others, but also the opportunity to interact with many motivated, service-oriented classmates. The long-term effects of this policy are disheartening from an alumna's perspective.
While I was proud of my university, particularly its service and leadership opportunities when I was a student, I am saddened to know that this is not what Miami will be known for in the future. Consequently, I urge ASG to reevaluate this policy and to reconsider the alternative proposed by current MU Habitat president Brian Wellman, to cap ASG funding for such trips. Additionally, the current ASG policy of primarily funding on-campus activities as well as ASG's interpretation of the "open to all students" policy deserves to be reconsidered in light of activities like those sponsored by Habitat. Only by correcting this shortsighted policy decision will ASG manage to be faithful to its stated commitment to fund projects "benefiting all Miami students."
Nancy Hull MU Habitat for Humanity President 2005-06nhh207@nyu.edu
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