Felons, no-confidence, no requirements, oh my!

The Current staff would like the world to know that we chose to come to the University of Missouri-St. Louis because we wanted to be represented by a convicted felon. We wanted to avoid experiencing student life. We wanted to have to park on the far side of the moon. We wanted to be in class with students that donÕt qualify to be here. And most importantly, we wanted our University to be guided by a Chancellor that no one has any confidence in.

But before we or any other students attempt to transfer out of state or hide the true identity of our degrees, we need to be realistic and look at the whole picture.

True, the student body is being represented by a man that is a convicted felon. Okay, so Darwin ButlerÕs actions have negatively affected the image of the school. On the up side, we are sure that more people will be voting in next years SGA election. It was a difficult lesson to learn, but we believe people have finally realized that their vote does count.

To address the never-ending complaint about student life, we would like to say that UM-St. Louis does have a student life, just not on campus. Students do get involved with volunteer organizations and make a difference in other peopleÕs lives. But for those of you that want to do something on campus, open your eyes. There have been several great lectures and performances on campus in the last month. Some people still complain that this does not constitute Òcampus life.Ó WeÕre sorry, but we doubt that the University will be sanctioning any drunken orgies in the near future to promote campus life.

The lack of close parking has been improved by a new garage with 600 parking spaces on West Drive. But if that is not enough, you could always petition the chancellor for a parking space in the middle of the FounderÕs Circle.

Returning to a more serious topic, The Current would like to applaud the University for taking a chance on students that did not fulfill all the requirements of the University of Missouri system. Most of those students lacked only one high school unit of math. UM-St. Louis students come from many diverse backgrounds. Not all high schools in the area offer enough units of a subject to let the student qualify for the UM system. Should this exclude these students from getting further education? No. When this story was first reported on in The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the writer used percentages extensively. The percentages did not tell the full facts behind the story. The article did not fully answer why UM-St. Louis chose to enroll these students. It also failed to ask how these students are now performing in college. Believe or not, UM-St. Louis is full of intelligent and qualified people.

The Current would like to also point out that it was a select committee of the Faculty Council that voted no-confidence in Chancellor TouhillÕs leadership. There are only ten members on the committee. We believe that it is unfair to say the University as a whole does not have confidence in the Chancellor when the entire Faculty Council has yet to come to a decision on the matter.

So with these issues straightened out, we know that students will realize that they do not have to transfer to a different school and that they will receive a quality education from a reputable university.