Spears says his columns made a difference at CEU

This archived article was written by: Jeff Spears

The Eagle has undergone unwarranted criticism from one of our own editorial writers. His assumptions arise from the overall domineering attitude we hold towards the rest of the student body and the subjects we critique.
The truth is that The Eagle does display the injustices within our campus life and we usually side with the student. The simple fact is that this newspaper is one of the only tools students have to combat the college without having repercussions or being afraid of being belittled. We have the First Amendment protection and the guts to write what the students are saying about the college and its departments.
The Eagle has always been the voice of the students with a variety of opinions and attitudes. I have never written an article without conversing with the student body and receiving their feedback. I was labeled as being the person who combated the entire cafeteria. This, however, was not the case. The whole student body was dissatisfied with the establishment, but I was vocal. This is true, just look at the surveys from Residential Life. Students are simply not happy with the cafeteria.
The Eagle also questions some decisions made by the hierarchy of CEU. This has to be my favorite article Surveys said students were unhappy with the IT department. Students paid money to have Internet access in the dorms and many were never provided with access.
One student who had been at CEU three years, had given up paying for Internet connections through the campus IT department because she never had access on a regular basis. The help desk personnel did not have the technical background to help most with problems and only about one-fourth of the students received Internet access within the dorms.
We wondered why CEU has personnel running programs that the students constantly complain about. It seems that if a person is not successful at running one program, the college assigns another program for that person to administer that will probably be doomed for failure in terms of meeting the students’ needs. The Eagle has even poked fun of True Eagle night and especially when only a few people showed.
The editorials were also responsible for the students and their overall concerns with the college. We printed the student voices and expressed many of their issues. The cosmetology parking was a major concern for the majority of the students and I was asked to write an article regarding the issue. The dorm policy of condensing students to a two-person room was a hot issue and even had the newspaper staff carrying petitions to the individual dorms. I have even criticized my own departments because I felt they were in the wrong.
Finally, the newspaper has been one of the only forums that exists for students to have a voice. Even a housing department head warned a student that she did not want to read about the department in the school newspaper. Others in housing have said they simply don’t read the paper. I guarantee the administration is waiting for the day to get rid of this staff.
For two years, we have been the voice of the students and have kept a close eye on issues that impact our lives. We take the heat and thrive on “touchy subjects” that the administration would rather leave silent. We are being the “messengers” and getting criticized for it often.
My only request is that CEU hierarchy listen to the students and their views on the college. We need to stop serving the elites of the college and begin to foster the people that make this college: the students. I love this college, I really do. It is just my own worries and those of my fellow students that this college is heading downwards. I have been seeing it happen for three years now and been a huge advocate of making changes. I ask you to please not kill the messenger, yet attempt to take in consideration the faults within the college.
I, however, will admit that I have made some lifetime friends at this college and the students are simply the best in Utah. We all tend to get along and I even met my wife here. I cannot ask for much more. I just hope that this college alters their policies to make the student experience memorable for years to come.