At recent meetings of an organization unrelated to The Student Life, Director of the Campus Center Neil Gerard made thinly veiled insults to Editor-in-Chief Nora Lawrence attacking the integrity of The Student Life and its staff. His comments implied that TSL staffers are ethically bankrupt, and that writing for the paper is not something to be proud of. While Gerard surely would excuse his comments as harmless jokes, they are hostile on both personal and professional levels.

It is not the place of a college administrator to issue personal slights against any student organization or its members. Gerard has repeatedly made these comments, and in front of other students at a meeting of an organization in which he and Lawrence both hold leadership positions. Such conduct is unprofessional. As a member of the administration, Gerard should always conduct himself with decorum, particularly in his dealings with students. We have a right to expect that administrators will keep above the antagonistic frays which inevitably occur between student members of the College community.

Gerard’s conduct is particularly reprehensible because of his position as administrative advisor to the ASPC Senate. Gerard’s position, which purportedly exists for the sole purpose of advising Senate on policy issues, demands that he maintain the appearance of impartiality on all issues concerning Senate so that he does not unduly influence their decisions. He is, after all, not an elected representative of the student body, and certainly should not be a lobbyist for the administration.

Gerard’s actions in Senate, however, have been far from impartial. He regularly makes comments and suggestions at Senate meetings which clearly exceed his authority as a "policy advisor." Furthermore, his close informal working relationship with members of Senate exacerbates his influence over the organization. Gerard’s overt partiality on some issues, coupled with his position of power over Senate, gives him the ability to improperly influence Senate and compromise their fair decision-making process.

The explicit suggestion by an administrative advisor that TSL is not a worthwhile student organization is bound to disadvantage that organization when Senate members determine its budget. This is inappropriate: Senate must be careful to reflect the views of student constituents, not an administrator who, by the very nature of his position, should not offer a normative opinion at all.

Why is this so important? The issue of Gerard’s undue influence is of particular concern to us because of the upcoming vote in Senate on the proposed budget for the 2001-2002 school year, and the possible effect he may have on that vote.

* * *

In the proposed budget submitted to the Senate Tuesday, The Student Life was allocated $14,000 for the 2001-2002 school year, a decrease in $5000 from last year’s allocation, and $9000 from the previous year’s allocation. The simple printing costs alone for 22 issues of the paper amounts to over $16,000, and this is without any office supplies, wages, and other sundry costs. This budget, if approved by the Senate next Tuesday, will unquestionably compromise The Student Life’s ability to fulfill its obligation to the college community in the upcoming year.

The Budget Committee explained that the drastically reduced budget for TSL was based on the possibility of reducing the length of the paper from 12 to eight pages, and the false assumption that this reduction in pages would lead to a reduction in printing costs. TSL already has a special relationship with Corona Commercial Printing–our rates have been fixed for a number of years. Corona would not further decrease the discounted rate it charges TSL, despite a decrease in page numbers. The Budget Committee also suggested additional revenue be generated by increasing ad revenue. Even ignoring the drastic reduction of content which would inevitably follow the increasing of ads and decreasing of pages, the Budget Committee’s suggestions reflect a form of financially-motivated micromanaging which has been rejected by both Senate and TSL in the past.

A one-third reduction of TSL’s budget over two years is simply not acceptable. As the official paper of record for Pomona College, The Student Life both deserves and requires the support of the Senate. And the Senate should be willing–perhaps even proud–to give it.