Amelia Crowley
Contributing Writer
The second floor of Lowry was home to Scot Council’s Missions and Outcomes this past Wednesday, Oct. 25. Officially convening the meeting, Scot Council President Jaylin Hudson ’24 began the introductions.
Hudson emphasized the importance of transparency and inclusion, as well as how The College of Wooster should adapt through shifting tides of higher education. He then introduced Dean of Students Cliff Bobbitt, who said that the best part of Wooster is the student body. He went on to include that the College has “the best trustees around,” and that the purpose of the event with them was to have open and honest minds, questions and discussion.
Trustee Anne Wilson ’73 thanked all of the students in attendance and spoke about the purpose of the Board of Trustees. She stated that the Board is there to support the College’s mission, prepare students to be leaders and to place students at the center of an environment of mutual respect.
The first student speaker was Dylynn Lasky ’24. She argued that Wooster should be a marketplace of ideas, not a space where ideological conformity is fostered. She believes that students, instead of being encouraged to share their ideas, feel that they cannot talk about their opinions for fear of repercussions or social pressure. Lasky also stated that the College’s statement about free speech is not sufficient to actually support students expressing their opinions. To achieve this end, she proposed the adoption of the Chicago Statement by the College as a way to explicitly support free speech with no risk of backlash.
The Chicago Statement, per the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), is a “free speech policy statement” which focuses on “emphasizing the importance of freedom of speech at institutions of higher learning.” FIRE argues that the statement is “an important reflection of how the principles of free speech are essential to the core purpose of a university.”
The next speaker was Shaunta Palmer ’25, who spoke about understaffing issues and concerns. She went over how staffing issues cause stress and pressure in the Office of Student Engagement, arguing that two more people are needed in the office to fill the demand placed upon it. Palmer also spoke about support for students, feeling as though many students cannot take their concerns to Campus Safety or any staff members and that there needs to be a system of support set up for students in the future.
The third student speaker of the night was Rayan Dos Passos ’25, who spoke about his experience at the College as an international student and living through the changes in generations at the College. He spoke about having a sense of belonging on Wooster’s campus, and about building community, rather than students being separated and focusing more on their phones than on each other. He said that to achieve this environment, all students must be and feel equal.
The final student speaker of the night was Hudson, who took on parking on campus. He spoke about students not being able to find parking spots and having to walk long distances back to their dorms when they did. His proposed solution was to build either one central parking garage, or two garages on either side of campus. He emphasized that this would not only make more space for students, but also additional income for the College by selling parking passes for sporting events. He said that to pay for a garage, the cost of a student parking pass would increase to $400, and that parking violation fines would be $150.
After the conclusion of the meeting, Austin Piatt ’24, shared that he thought it was “productive and encouraging to hear student concerns.” This was echoed by Board members Robin Harbage ’75, Sarah Murchison ’93, Jennie Saliers ’83 and Angie Triplett ’06, who Harbage said were “excited to see engagement of students.”
“Having solutions in mind will help in the real world, and that it’s good that students aren’t just complaining,” explained Murchison. Triplett agreed that “adaptability is interesting, and that the mindset of the College does need to continuously evolve.”
