Students have recently been at odds with the administration at Geneseo for many reasons, but things seem to have escalated at the start of this semester when students came back to campus with no access to the library as well as a power outage during the first full week of classes.
It is important to acknowledge that the closing of Milne due to asbestos and the power outage that occurred this week were both tough situations for administrators that they had to scramble to resolve.
To me, it seems the reason students are mad is not the incidents themselves—as these things happen—but the lack of ingenuity when it comes to solutions. As of now, there is no quiet studying space to replace Milne’s upstairs section, and little-to-no extra study space has been created to make up for the closing of the library. While students can go to other buildings, these places are often noisy or very crowded.
For these reasons, students have been wondering why a study space for them can’t be opened in Doty Hall, which contains many administrative offices as well. In the past, there was study space in Doty for honors students, which is why many students feel they should open study spaces in Doty again.
On Jan. 22, administrators spoke with students at Doty and explained that the old honors student study spaces were now filled by offices. I think this is somewhat irrelevant as the Doty recital hall, conference rooms and lobby could be used as quiet study space if needed.
Even if this is not possible, I think alternate options can be looked at in buildings such as the ISC or Bailey, that tend to be quieter.
When administrators seem to avoid giving up “their building” to students, it makes them appear closed off and in a “castle on the hill” instead of being willing to work with and listen to student concerns. I think this division further aggravates students and makes them more willing to blame the administration first and think about how difficult the situation is later.
Another solution to this problem could be putting tables in Schrader gym for a quiet study space, at least during midterms and finals weeks. When the weather is nicer, tables and blankets could be set out on the college green for students to study as well. The administration needs to be more creative about the solutions to this problem, as spaces that are not traditionally study spaces are going to need to be converted to at least accommodate the finals week and midterms study rushes.
When it comes to the issue of the recent power outage, it is concerning that a better emergency plan for these types of situations did not seem to be in place. When it is estimated that 1400 students are without power, including heat, providing them with 200 cots in the gym just in case the power outage lasts longer is not good enough.
It is also somewhat ridiculous that classes weren’t canceled campus-wide when some students didn’t even have access to hot water. While they could travel to other dorms, they would need someone else to let them in during the evening or early morning, as during those hours you must live in the dorm to be able to access it.
I also wonder why the hours at MacVittie Union weren’t at least extended the night of the outage. At least then students would have a place to charge electronics and do homework, considering classes were not canceled the next day.
While this power outage wasn’t the fault of the administration, it is once again their reaction to it that caused such an uproar among students. Administrators need to start coming up with more creative solutions, or at least begin to be more open to student suggestions during these types of situations. The discussion with administrators and students after Milne Library’s closing will only be a step in the right direction if administrators choose to act on those suggestions.