CEU has potential for greatness
In my time at CEU, I have done my absolute best to be impartial in the newspaper. So for me to put my opinions on paper is a little difficult.
This newspaper has done a lot of good things for me, without it I would never have know the pleasures of giant pens, 12 gum balls at once or the wonderful smell of pickled herring in a mall food court.
But I would like to leave this place with more than just my memories of random events. I would like to leave a message to the whole campus; improve. Do it because you can, not because you have to.
This archived article was written by: Heather Myers
In my time at CEU, I have done my absolute best to be impartial in the newspaper. So for me to put my opinions on paper is a little difficult.
This newspaper has done a lot of good things for me, without it I would never have know the pleasures of giant pens, 12 gum balls at once or the wonderful smell of pickled herring in a mall food court.
But I would like to leave this place with more than just my memories of random events. I would like to leave a message to the whole campus; improve. Do it because you can, not because you have to.
This campus has amazing potential. That can be seen in the greatest step forward I’ve ever seen on this campus: ASCEU’s Statement of Expectations. These students saw this institution and all of its potential going to waste and did what they had the power to do. They saw that they were in temporary positions and that they did not have the authority to change what it would take to fix the things that need to or should be fixed.
This interest in the affairs of an institution that those leaders will not attend for the rest of their lives shows a great deal of concern and caring and I would like to express my gratitude to those that cared enough to do it. You have shown a concern for those who come after you that is so often missing from such temporary posts as student government.
The Statement of Expectations got people thinking, which is the first step. The people on this campus that took that document as a personal attack troubled me. They missed the point and did not start thinking about how they could improve.
Instead they set out to prove they did not need to improve. I have news for everyone out there who thinks they cannot improve. You’re wrong, there is always room for improvement; you are not perfect. If you think the statement misrepresented you or your department, prove it. Don’t whine and complain, prove your department is great, show us great people, show us great things.
For those of you out there who know you are doing a good job, congratulations. Keep doing a good job, keep improving and don’t settle for good enough. Don’t settle, continue to excel. And thank you.
I have heard people say that the students voicing their opinions will cause bad press and if bad things go in the paper about CEU no one will want to come here. I have only one thing to say to that logic: do you really want to bring people to a place that is bad, or would you rather let what is wrong get out to the public, get fixed and show how much improvement has been made?
The latter will show those considering CEU how much the college cares that they have a quality education and experience. The latter fools them into thinking nothing ever goes wrong here and they are disappointed because the program they want is gone because of budget cuts or because someone didn’t like the people in it.
A lot of discussion has gone on about recruiting, it is a problem and it does need to be fixed. I honestly don’t think anyone will disagree on that issue, the solution maybe, but not the fact that it is a problem. I am tired of hearing faculty and administration blame each other over this issue. There needs to be a better line of communication. The Statement of Expectations addresses this issue, but still, I have not seen any better communication. All I have seen are people assigning blame and avoiding addressing the issue.
This school has the amazing access to the heart of the mining industry, the best dinosaur bones on the planet, the best access to southwestern archaeology, yet these programs have been, if not completely, at least somewhat neglected. The energy center, if managed correctly, could be an amazing asset to this institution.
This school could be the premier school in the state, if not higher, in paleontology. We have the best location in the U.S. for the collection and study of dinosaur bones and the like. The Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry is the premier spot in the state. The big universities in the state bring their paleontology students to the Carbon-Emery area to study and get field experience.
The people who run these programs are great people, but I think their potential has been overlooked. If they were given the support they need and were encouraged to utilize the natural resources, prime location and other things that make CEU unique, the school would improve immensely. I hope in 10 years I can meet someone who went to CEU and they will be able to say, “I studied paleontology at CEU and it was a springboard for my career.”
These are just some of the programs that have been neglected and could be an improvement to CEU; they are the ones that stand out to me the most based on geographical location. There are some wonderful programs out there, automotive, cosmetology and nursing to name a few, that are doing great jobs and attract students, but why aren’t there more? The people running these programs strive for excellence, they are constantly improving, they understand that good enough isn’t good enough. Why aren’t there more of these kind of programs?
This school has so much to offer, I am sad to be leaving it, and I hope you will read this and understand just how great you could be.
