Although Northwestern administrators have often seemed clueless in the past week, they clearly have learned one lesson well: It’s easier to ask forgiveness than permission. To put it another way: Shoot first and ask questions later.
At Tuesday’s forum about the Lagoon construction plan, students asked angry and frustrated questions, while administrators asked forgiveness – but only to a point. Senior Vice President for Business and Finance Eugene Sunshine apologized for not seeking any community input before deciding to fill in four acres of the Lagoon’s 19 acres. But administrators remained defiant about the need for the new space and the hasty construction schedule. Students, for the most part, remained incredulous.
In that sense, the forum was barely productive. It served only to allow students to vent and administrators to placate them with a qualified apology. The futility was inevitable, of course, since similar forums weren’t held before the final Lagoon decision was made.
University President Henry Bienen claims that there is no place for student input into long-term capital projects. Instead, his administrators point to student involvement in budget and faculty hiring processes – roles gained after sustained student pressure – as proof that they care. Bienen draws the line at projects such as the Lagoon construction that would have a significant impact on the campus.
We fail to see the logic. Obviously, major capital projects should not be approved or rejected by student referendums, but they shouldn’t be planned in secret, either. Students, faculty and staff have a stake in the campus’ shape and in the university’s future. Administrators should listen to their opinions, if for no other reason than to avoid another Lagoon-style backlash.
Bienen & Co. must find new ways to involve the community in important decisions. They should seriously consider adding students to the Board of Trustees, that mother of all committees. Those seats would be a start, but they’re not enough to make the community feel invested. Public forums and hearings about specific issues are needed, too. And needed early enough in the process to have a shot at influencing the outcome.
Otherwise it’s patronizing and useless.
It could be too late for the Lagoonfill, but administrators can still open the discussion of what buildings will occupy the new space. Just let them try making the case that students and professors shouldn’t be consulted about which academic buildings are erected.
Although those new buildings might be years away, it’s not too early to include students in the brainstorming sessions: Individuals could work to produce designs and community forums could then debate their merits.
Such a process would go a long way toward ensuring a more amicable second phase to the Lagoon project.
