Unlucky 13

No. 13 party school. Top 10 business school. No. 9 best college newspaper. The School of Library Sciences is seventh. IU-Bloomington is the 30th best public research university. One-hundred-nineteen Guggenheims awarded to faculty, more than any other state institution. The Bloomington campus is among the top five most beautiful. \nIU commits an extensive amount of attention to these figures in an effort to publicize and promote the University, and it makes sense. Currently, one figure is being ignored, and it's not the party school ranking, but it's worthy of bringing just as much attention to: 13. The Presidential Search and Screen Committee, named during the summer to select the next University president, is comprised of 13 individuals, including one graduate student from IU-South Bend. Surprisingly, there are ZERO undergraduate students, and ZERO IU-Bloomington students, eliminating representation of nearly 38,000 voices. Now these figures are worthy of immediate attention, as it is apparent two major constituencies are being ignored. \nThe board of trustees has made apparent the policy is to maintain small numbers, 13 exactly, in an effort to effectuate the overall search process for our next president. Nonetheless, the search for the next president, also IUB's next chief executive officer, has failed to include a student at the undergraduate level and more importantly, one from the flagship campus, Bloomington. \nThe attention to regulating the number of individuals who actually serve on the committee will inevitably result in an inadequate search for a candidate who truly shares what previous presidents shared, a passion for the student voice and student engagement in University affairs. \nWhat kind of message are we choosing to send to candidates? Do we want to attract candidates who deeply value student input, voice and concerns? Or do we want to attract candidates who are satisfied by the dismissal of student voices in an effort to keep a number low, or a process more efficient, because of some policy that might exist? \nWe want a candidate who acknowledges that, as the University president and CEO of the Bloomington campus, decisions made by students are valued by administrators. A seat on the committee would ensure that the 38,000 undergraduate and graduate voices representing traditional, flagship-campus students, who have lived in residence halls, participated in or attended Division I athletic events, involved themselves in greek life, lived in a college town, had the opportunity to participate in more than 200 organizations and more, are heard. \nWe ask that more attention be paid to changing this figure, 13, in an effort to enhance the University as a whole and not neglect its largest constituencies of undergraduate and more importantly, Bloomington students.