Madeleine Coles
Former Co-Editor-in-Chief and News Editor
I think it’s safe to say there are very few, if any, members of the ISU community, be them faculty, staff, students or others, who would characterize the university as being on stable ground.
In fact, I think there’s a very good chance the overwhelming majority of them would characterize the university as sitting directly on the edge of a cliff, inching closer and closer to imminent destruction each passing day.
Perhaps I am being overly dramatic, but it does seem as though tension at ISU is becoming overwhelming to the point of dangerous.
Faculty and staff are frustrated, students are confused and nearly everyone feels helpless. We are very clearly at a precipice and I have to wonder, as I’m sure many others do, how did we get here?
There is no shortage of those who place the weight of each and every problem the university faces squarely on the shoulders of President Arthur Vailas. But I do think Vailas should be held responsible. He is only one piece of the destructive puzzle that has been brining ISU down for years.
By all means, this university should be a beacon of hope: a cost effective way for students to receive excellent education. ISU should be the pride of not only Pocatello, but the state of Idaho. We have a number of superb programs with competent, intelligent and caring instructors and highly driven students.
Even within my major, which is journalism, (not exactly ISU’s touted area of expertise) I have been able to work with students and staff who are simply amazing at what they do. They know their stuff and more importantly, they share that knowledge with others.
There is groundbreaking research being done at ISU by students and professors alike. I truly believe that we are home to some of the best and brightest people in the state. We should be proud.
And yet, we are not.
All praise aside, it is incredibly difficult to be proud of a university that is rocked with scandals seemingly every other month. Tales of embezzlement, sexual harassment and discontent run rampant on campus and in the community and yet, no one seems to be able to figure out why enrollment numbers are going down year after year.
The harsh truth is, this school is no longer seen as a top-notch institute of research and education: it’s a ticking time bomb and everyone knows it.
The selection of the new president is perhaps our only chance to change that narrative. It remains to be seen, however, whether it will be a detonation or a defusion.
This is too important to get wrong. This is too important to take chances on. I am in no way saying I know what the right choice is. I am not yet endorsing any candidate. But I am absolutely saying that the winner will have an unprecedented opportunity to change this university entirely and potentially permanently.
At the risk of revealing just how secretly nerdy I really am, I am reminded of Voldemort’s return in ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’. Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, says to the Minister of Magic, “I tell you now– take the steps I have suggested and you will be remembered, in office or out, as one of the bravest and greatest Ministers of Magic we have ever known. Fail to act– and history will remember you as the man who stepped aside and allowed Voldemort a second chance to destroy the world we have tried to rebuild.”
We cannot underestimate the importance of our next step.
Let’s get this right. Let’s make ISU great again.
Well said.