Get it together

Legislators in Lansing are dangerously close to another budget deadline. They keep putting off the tough issues.

The Academic Senate at CMU, for some reason, is emulating them.

A-Senate was charged with the major task of deciding the future of CMU’s general education program this semester. Gen ed determines what University Program classes students will have to take, among other curricular decisions.

Instead of sticking to deadlines (set in September) for a December vote, they have decided to delay the vote until at least January.

When in January, they didn’t say. No one specified January 2008, either.

University officials began working on gen ed changes in April 2005.

The issue was first brought to A-Senate more than a year ago. Two models were formally introduced 354 days ago. One was rejected in February, the other went nowhere and nothing new has been introduced since then.

A-Senate called a special session for next Tuesday to help them address their feet-dragging.

The following week, Nov. 6, will hopefully introduce new models.

A-Senate was scheduled to have their sole night of debate on Nov. 20; they added Dec. 4 as another day of debate. The December date was scheduled to be a vote.

Some senators claim they would not have enough time to discuss gen ed with their constituents unless the vote was delayed. That is just not true.

There have been many informal surveys over the past year and instead of taking those suggestions and tying them together as a model (as one senator unsuccessfully suggested), they wait for a model to be brought to them.

Who exactly do these senators represent that they can’t contact in two weeks?

Senators also say this issue requires time to carefully consider all ramifications. They’ve had that time. It’s been in their hands for a year now.

The only changes have been consistent delays and the only constant has been consistent bickering.

One of the problems for this organization is that too many people watch their backs instead of looking out for students’. Departmental representatives want their classes to be required so they get more money. Others have their own agendas, too.

But it’s time to drop those and look at compromise. Actually, that time was last year. Now they’re just getting a chance to redeem themselves.

A-Senate has – on more than a few occasions in the last year – spent the majority of a meeting debating minute points of grammar in various resolutions and motions.

Petty squabbles should not keep A-Senate from getting the tough work done.

Change gen ed by compromising or the idea should be dropped so they can aim their efforts somewhere useful.