The University of Connecticut is hosting three town halls regarding the university’s budget for the next five years, during which all community members are invited to attend or submit questions beforehand or during the meeting. The next town hall will be a virtual meeting on Feb. 21 at noon as the UConn administration attempts to give community voices a chance to speak out on an important issue.
UConn is undoubtedly an undemocratic organization. As The Daily Campus Editorial Board has written before, many aspects of this university’s financial and decision-making powers lie completely insulated and often hidden away from student and community voices. In this past school year alone, there have been some very drastic examples of how UConn’s policy is often uninformed of or undeterred by the will of its students. In the past, they have attempted to provide opportunities for students to speak out, as with UConn President Radenka Maric’s Sustainability Town Hall this past fall semester, but completely failed to listen to what their students were saying. In this case, that is very literal, considering how Maric left her own event after the entire event was padded with superfluous presentations from other university administrators.
The Editorial Board hopes that this time, administrators will not run from those who took the time out of their day to advocate for a better UConn and will be prepared to talk about the hard issues of funding and potential budget cuts. We also urge administrators to hold more opportunities to hear student voices, as these town halls and 15-minute sign-ups for “office hours” with Maric — that were announced via email and The Daily Digest on Jan. 25, 2024 — are grossly inadequate in truly listening to the community.
Since opportunities to speak directly to university officials are rare, The Editorial Board urges all students to attend these town halls. Although they are all placed very inconveniently on Wednesdays at noon, when many students are stuck in classes or working, it is of utmost importance that students try to attend to advocate for the future of their school. Students have demonstrated in the past that with enough force, their voices cannot be ignored. The symptoms that they face, like housing problems, rising tuition, food insecurity and sustainability failures are best addressed at the source in meetings like these.
“Saving UConn” is not just a one-time occasion; the process of creating an equitable community is continual and requires vigilance and consistent effort every time there is a new threat. Despite of the hardships and systemic barriers to making UConn a better place, students must do what they can and speak out as loudly as possible; this Feb. 21, and all ensuing opportunities, continue to make your voices heard even if this administration does not want to listen.