Julia Garrison
News Editor
A special thanks to those who tabled and especially those who inputted data on behalf of the Voice. An extra special thank you to Helen Oriatti-Bruns, Zach Perrier, Zanna Anderson, Amanda Crouse, Wyn Caudle, Gabriel McCreath, Lain Patton and Kiera McGuire.
The Wooster Voice staff collected responses to their biannual survey during the week of Feb. 10 to 14. The anonymous survey allowed students to share their feedback about departments across campus.
The Voice staff, directed by news editors Julia Garrison ’25 and Gianna Hayes ’26, tabled in Lowry Student Center during lunch and dinner hours to gauge a diverse student population’s opinions about the College, broken down into 25 different departments and five Wooster-specific programs.
Students checked boxes on the paper survey that correlated with their demographics and opinions about each department’s performance. There was also a space on the form for students to leave comments.
The Voice gathered approximately 300 responses to the survey. The class of 2026 had the highest participation in the survey, accounting for 34% of the overall respondents. The class of 2025 provided 32% of responses and the class of 2027 provided 25%, while the class of 2028 provided 9% of responses. Compared to last semester, a higher participation rate of total survey respondents were from the class of 2026, while a lower participation rate of respondents from the classes of 2025 and 2028 was recorded. Participation from the class of 2027 remained consistent.
Participation by race stayed consistent from the Voice’s fall 2024 approval ratings survey; 74.9% of respondents identified as white, 5.2% as Black or African American, 11.1% as Asian, 1.5% as North African or Middle Eastern, 1.1% as American Indian or Alaska Native and 6.3% reported two or more races. There was an increase in Asian students’ responses to the survey by 3.6%.
90.8% students reported that they are not of Hispanic or Latino origin, while 9.7% reported that they are. This accounts for a 3% response increase from students of Hispanic or Latino origin.
Gender identity changed greatly this semester, with over 50% of respondents identifying as female, compared to 46% last semester. 31% identified as male, 13.6% as nonbinary, 2.7% as two or more and 2% reported an “other” gender –– which respondents could write in.
A random sampling of 215 was taken from the 299 total responses. Results from the random sampling were tallied and shared with department leaders and directors. These staff and faculty members were given seven days to respond with comments. No new departments were added to this semester’s survey. The news editors will revisit the departments listed on the survey at the beginning of every academic year for consistency and formality.
Seven departments and one student program garnered a 70% or higher approval rating, which includes their combined “approve” and “strongly approve” scores. These departments included Advising, Academic Planning and Experiential Learning (APEX) (72%), The Wooster Voice (82%), Faculty (90%), Libraries (91%) and The Writing Center (75%). All of these departments also received a 70% or higher approval rating last semester; however, MacLeod’s C-Store dropped off the list with a 69% approval rating this semester. Independent Study (I.S.) was the lone student program represented in this group, with a combined approval of 70%. Last semester, first-year seminar (FYS) was the only student program represented in this group, but its approval dropped to 69% this semester.
In the data collected, there were six departments and two student programs with a total approval rating of 50% to 69% overall. These departments included Longbrake Student Wellness Center (60%), Sexuality and Gender Inclusivity Office (SGI, 50%), Knowlton Science Café (62%), MacLeod’s C-Store (69%), The College of Wooster (68%) and Student Engagement (57%). Two programs — FYS (69%) and study abroad and TREKs (57%) — also made the list.
Five departments and one student program polled 50% or higher in neutrality. These departments included Multicultural Student Affairs (MSA, 64%), International Student Services (ISS, 71%), Religious and Spiritual Life (RSL, 52%), Scot Council (55%) and the Dean of Students Office (54%). Pathways received a 59% neutral rating. MSA, ISS, Scot Council, the Dean of Students Office and Pathways also appeared on the neutral list last semester.
Departments with a 30% or higher disapproval rating included Lowry Dining Center (53%), Old Main Café (31%), the Office of the President (45%) and campus safety (31%). All four departments also received a 30% or higher disapproval rating last semester.
Some departments that did not have a clear majority include the Global Engagement Office (GEO), the Registrar, Residential Life, the Financial Aid Office, Athletics and the Fraternity-Sorority Life program. Many of these programs either had an evenly distributed rating or students’ ratings did not reflect a consensus on what they think about these departments.
Students in this semester’s survey responses continued to discuss the loss of Boo Bears Brew which was replaced by Old Main Café in August 2024. Boo Bears surveyed well in the Voice’s inaugural approval ratings survey in spring 2024, finding a place in the over 70% approval group, but responses to Old Main’s reinstatement on campus saw the café’s rating plummet.
“Old Main’s drinks are so low quality,” one student wrote. Another wrote about the outsource, noting that the “charm” of Old Main had faded, and “[the] lack of student employees makes it feel sad, lonely.”
Over a dozen comments mention Boo Bears Brew directly by name, most using the comment space to ask for the café to return to campus.
Students also felt that other dining options across campus were not satisfactory. Many students recommended that Lowry’s dinner hours be extended anywhere from a half hour to an extra hour. The dinner period currently ends at 8 p.m., with minimal options available after this time period — including a limited menu at Mom’s located in the C-Store.
“Many student athletes need access to real food after practice,” one student wrote. Other students commented on the food quality and options at Lowry. Another student commented on Lowry’s lack of made to order options.
In student comments about the C-Store, some students said that they wanted to be able to utilize meal swipes. Students also called for more zero-sugar soda options and “better quality food,” according to one commenter.
Many students reiterated their high rating of the faculty in their comments, both to appreciate certain faculty members and to criticize Wooster’s administration for how they believe the faculty are being treated.
“The Faculty needs more support. They’re doing everything they can but there are not enough of them,” one commenter wrote. “admin and pres. are not adequately supporting students and faculty,” another wrote. Another echoed this sentiment, writing that the Office of the President “needs to respect students and faculty.”
Many students commented on the Office of the President, both on actions taken by the President and by members of her cabinet.
“I think administration could always be doing more to connect with students and improve conversation. There should be an attitude of collaboration with and concern for students’ [sic] — not an adversarial demeanor. It often feels like administration are trying to hide something from the students,” one student wrote.
Other students, although rating the Office of the President with a disapproval, commended her response to ongoing executive orders and legislation at both the local and national level.
Students also commented on the President’s cabinet. As one student noted about the Dean of Students office: “I don’t think I have formally met the Dean of Students or at least the Dean of Students has not introduced him or herself formally to the College of Wooster campus community.”
The student continued: “I think with the growing political tensions, it impacts how the President and Dean of Students interacts and engages with the Student body. My personal recommendation is that they should make themselves widely available to students. If that is not possible, then extending the roles and responsibilities to other qualified candidates.”
Students, although rating the libraries very highly, called for later library hours, some asking for 24-hour access to the libraries. This was a common comment in last semester’s survey as well, which Librarian of the College Makiba Foster responded to by explaining that library use in the last two hours of opening significantly decreased based on studies from the last two years.These comments, and more, were shared with departments for comment. Departments were not expected to utilize every comment to craft a response, but were given the time to do so if they wished. 103 of 299 surveys utilized the comment section on the Voice’s survey this semester, representing 34% of all surveys. This reflected a 7% increase in comment responses, with 27% of surveys containing comments last semester.
