Five years ago, when I was looking at colleges, I knew as soon as I set foot on Northeastern’s campus that this was where I belonged. Not only did I fall in love with the campus and city, it was the unique College of Criminal Justice (CCJ), passionate faculty and staff, and incredible co-op opportunities that brought me here. In my eyes, no other program or university compared. I have continuously been so impressed with the tight network of Northeastern Criminal Justice alumni and have found our program to be distinctive. A year ago, when asked about my experiences with my classes and co-ops, and thoughts about Northeastern in general, not a negative word would have left my mouth. My classes have been great, my co-ops incredible, and the faculty and staff have been knowledgeable and supportive, always willing to go the extra mile for a student.
Now, with an administration that has methodically become a dictatorship ‘- proven by examples such as the sudden resignation of Jim Stellar, or the systematic decrease in the size of the incoming freshman class of the CCJ ‘- the disregard for views of anyone but select members of the administration is apparent. It doesn’t take much to realize that a frightening, non-transparent process to eliminate what we love so much about our university has been taking place by few, elite members of administration who think they can instill their thoughts on the rest of the NU community. Congratulations, NU administration. You just lost one of your most enthusiastic supporters.
I attended’ a restructuring committee forum for students on co-op and could go on for hours about the disregard for any proposition that did not fit into the administration’s ideals. My biggest problem, however, was when I closed my statements with one suggestion:’ Please give us one opportunity to actually notify alumni and bring them with us to a meeting. The committee failed to meet even the simplest of requests.
Provost Stephen Director is, simply stated, a fool. In a recent Boston Globe article, he was quoted in regard to the direction of the university as saying, ‘We’re not abandoning our core values to attract students.’ Is this a joke? He has begun to abandon every good thing that has brought NU its unique reputation and success, in a continuous, never-ending process. Whether it is a dean with conflicting views or a college that in his mind is unsuccessful, he has begun to eliminate what brought us all here in the first place. News flash:’ There is a reason why we are here, not at some of the colleges with models the committee suggest we try to align with. I have never come across anyone in such a position that is so out of touch of reality, with no regard to what students think or feel. Every person in the NU community who has had uncertainty in decisions made by this administration should be horrified.
In an effort to reach out to those who may not be aware of this alarming situation, or those who don’t think it will affect them, I urge you to consider the following. How can such a major change be possible without the input from the students, faculty, alumni and co-op partners? What other changes are going on behind closed doors that we won’t know about until it’s too late? Why are our professors, clearly unhappy, remaining silent? Are they afraid that they too will lose their jobs? How would you feel if you were accepted into a college that, unbeknownst to you, would soon not exist? The administration should be ashamed, and needs to start coming up with valid answers, fast. However, I can only assume that this will be just another inquiry which will go unanswered.
-Karin Pipczynski is a senior criminal justice major and member of the Criminal Justice Advisory Committee.
