Decision to open early not the mark of flagship university
To the editor:
The decision to resume classes Tuesday was an irresponsible one. Many of the luckiest UH students are still without electricity at home, and those who were less fortunate during hurricane Ike are now piecing together their lives and can devote little time or effort to suddenly secondary educational concerns. UH officials’ hollow assurances that classes this week are non-mandatory do little to help. Students who must stay at home for any number of valid reasons after Ike are now forced to fall behind their classmates – classmates who will take the same final they will.
Campus may have power and water, but it is certainly not back to normal. Trees are the most obvious casualties of Ike, and some of them have fallen into parking lots, aggravating an already stressful shortage of parking spaces. A utility pole at the intersection of University and Calhoun is also hanging so low that officials have had to divert traffic. Parking lots across campus remain unlighted, so students who must take advantage of campus’ electricity and Internet to keep up with their classes – even those who abide by the citywide curfew in place this week – put themselves at risk and add an unnecessary strain on the UH Police Department.
By resuming classes early, UH has missed an incredible opportunity to open up to the community and share its resources with the many Texans affected by Ike. Thousands of people remain on Galveston Island, and many are going to San Antonio. Even if the dorms are too full mid-semester, surely the University Hilton or the Recreation and Wellness Center could have served as places more comfortable than San Antonio for evacuees to wait until they could return home.
UH officials should remember that flagship universities think of their students and their communities before they think of their reputations.
Zach Lee
Former editor in chief of The Daily Cougar
First-year student at the University of Houston Law Center
Campus should open only for those in need
To the editor:
As a student, I find the actions of the University inconsiderate, ignorant and irresponsible. Rather than resuming classes, the University should instead use the campus – which has its own power plant and running water – as a shelter or, at the very least, a distribution center for getting resources to those without.
With gas shortages around the city, for UH to expect its student body, most of which commutes, to brave the long lines for gasoline is absurd. Many students commute from all over the city and surrounding areas, including those under mandatory evacuation. Many traffic lights are still not functional and adding the thousands of UH students to the streets will create more traffic problems and put more people in danger. Many students also rely on public transportation, and Metro lines are not completely up and running.
In compliance with the city’s week-long curfew, all classes will cease at 7:30 p.m., but students who attend these night classes will most certainly be behind the rest of the student body by a week, and they will have to catch up or intended curriculum will have to be dropped.
UH President Renu Khator sent a letter to the University community reassuring us that all exams and projects are pushed back this week and that professors will be sensitive to personal challenges, such as a lack of electricity. She also said students will not be penalized for missing classes. Obviously, those who cannot show up deserve this courtesy, but many others will likely take advantage of the opportunity to skip class.
The mayor and other officials are urging those of us who remained during the hurricane to stay home unless it is absolutely necessary for us to leave. While education is important, its necessity pales in comparison to basic needs, such as a warm meal and running water.
If the University really wants to attain flagship status, it should try putting its students, professors and employees first and help the city achieve a sufficient state of normalcy before expecting students to be ready to learn and professors ready to teach.
Joanna Hupp
English senior
Opening campus detrimental to students, community
To the editor:
The University of Houston has a student population of more than 35,000 people and roughly 3,000 faculty members. It is foolhardy to ask that they come to class so soon after Hurricane Ike.
As I write this, more than 70 percent of the area is without power, gasoline is in short supply and a number of roads are impassable. Many students evacuated the area – some under mandatory evacuation order – and many more do not have access to electricity.
The tax on Houston’s limited resources created by asking more than 38,000 people to come to campus to teach and be taught is unacceptable until the city has been given a better chance to stabilize.
Furthermore, even if a student manages to make it safely to the University, there is no guaranteeing that his or her professors will be there to teach them. Two of my professors canceled classes Tuesday. I only knew that because I am in the fortunate minority of Houstonians who have had electricity restored. With such a large percentage of the city without power, there is no guarantee that students and faculty members are even aware that they are supposed to be at the University.
Each student pays thousands of dollars to have a professor teach them for a set number of hours each semester and "resuming things as usual" will rob many of them of what they paid for. Things are not "as usual," and acting like they are is at best hubris and at worst just plain ignorance.
Through four years of undergraduate education in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, one year of law school at the UH Law Center and several years of working with the University administration as both an Honors College senator and Vice President of the Student Government Association, I cannot readily recall a more foolish and out of touch decision on the part of a University administrator.
Matthew Bell
Second-year student at the University of Houston Law Center
Opening campus the right choice
To the editor: The decision made by UH President Renu Khator and the University to reopen campus and resume classes was a smart move. Reactions to the opening have been rash and have only the short-term in mind. Students should be more considerate of what the University was trying to offer and keep its students and community in mind.
If we did not resume classes, we would be forced to make up these days, but the University understood that many students can’t jeopardize their safety or their homes. In response to the needs of its students, the classes were optional. UH emphasized the fact that nothing grade-related would be released this week and if students could not afford to come to campus they could remain at home. The way the University has the classes set up allows us not to make up days, it gives us the flexibly to decide when to return to a normal class schedule. By skipping class, students just hurt themselves by falling behind and if students have a valid reason they can easily recover lost material.
Many faculty and staff members face the same problems as students, and many have cancelled class for the same reasons as students. Even though campus is open, many faculty members have opted to not resume class. If students choose not to come to school, they could easily ask fellow classmates or teachers for materials that they have missed and recover in time for finals.
Classes also end by at least 7:30 p.m. in compliance with curfew. This causes classes at night to fall behind, but these classes could easily post data online or be reviewed at a later time.
The University’s first priority is students. We are the ones who pay for
the school and so they keep their facilities open for students first. Students can easily come to school and use the many open facilities to shower at the Wellness Center, charge electronics, use the open computer labs, sit in one of the buildings for air conditioning and eat at any of the open restaurants. Any student or faculty member can maximize his or her abilities by utilizing these resources.
The campus has already helped its students and community by remaining open and helping with Points of Distribution. It has sent many able volunteers to help with these resources and still has many free commodities open to anyone, such as shuttle buses. By standing open and ready, the University stands strong and shows great potential for flagship status. Perhaps people who don’t understand this should be thinking about what they could do for their neighbors and ignore the fact that they can’t listen to their ipods, watch television or play on their computer. Y-van Ty, environmental science sophomore
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