I didn't go to the President's Introduction. Because of all the drama behind the last president's departure (people still wonder why he really left), I wasn't interested in participating in more pointless political ceremony when I could be doing what I came here to do--learn.

Last year, I had an enlightening conversation about the attitude of some professors about the Great Conversation, a program that I had found one of the best experiences of St. Olaf. However, I discovered that some professors disliked the Con because it drew too many students away from their classes, and would resent it even more if it were given more power than it already has.

Naively, I questioned why other professors would dislike the Con, as I felt that my extensive background into my own Western Culture tremendously helped both my intellectual and personal growth. Furthermore, I thought that this education which followed me into my other classes brought more depth to those classes as well. It had never occurred to me that other professors--people who have devoted their lives to educating me and my peers--would think that somehow, I was worse off from my experience. Of course, most professors I've encountered have supported the program, so I just didn't understand the other point of view. I didn't understand why politics in an educational setting would take priority over education.

I became even more disillusioned when I worked in the administration side of a college over the summer at California Lutheran University. I was amazed at the self-important attitude these people had--since they weren't really involved in what I saw as the purpose of college (education), I had never really thought that they were all that important to the college. However, now that colleges have adopted the business model in administration, they hold the power because they control the money. I used to think that professors were the power-holders on campus. I'm beginning to think that, to the people in power, I'm just an item in a mass-production factory that will carry a label to the general marketplace and hopefully draw more income and raw materials to the college.

Because I have never worked with the administration at St. Olaf, I can't say that the attitude that was so pronounced at Cal Lutheran exists here. However, I wonder how much the business model has affected the learning here. My roommate, a Pre-med Biology and Chemistry major, is stuffed, even in upper level classes, in the giant lecture halls of the Science Center with 50-60 other students. Is this what we pay a small liberal arts college the big bucks to experience?

Welcome First-years.