I want to compliment the University for organizing an excellent forum on the issue of Energy, one of the defining issues of this generation.
I have a problem, however, with the timing of this and past fora. They should occur in the early evening and not interfere with class lectures. Students and faculty should attend this forum and in order to do so, either a faculty member must cancel their lecture or a student must skip the lecture.
Either way, the message being sent by the Administration is that there are certain things which take precedent over lecture. This opens the door to many possibilities.
Perhaps a student believes spending time with family members warrants leaving campus a day earlier for Fall Break. Perhaps a faculty member believes attending a seminar important to their research warrants canceling their lecture which occurs at the same time as the seminar.
The Administration is setting a bad example to students and faculty by timing these fora during lecture periods.
Michael Stanisic
faculty
professor of Aerospace & Mech Engineering
Sept. 24
