On Wednesday, new University Chief Operating Officer Christopher Augostini organized the first of what he has promised will be several “Hoya Roundtables,” forums designed to give students a chance to have a direct dialogue with the staff of various Georgetown departments, such as the Department of Public Safety and University Information Services.
The initiative raises hope for a more open relationship between the administration and the student body. The open exchange of ideas between students and administrators that happened Wednesday makes the potential of a forward-thinking event like this one clear.
The discussion, ranging from problems with Saxanet to Facilities’ spotty response to work orders, shed light on University processes and allowed students to voice their concerns. The conversation’s frankness was a startling contrast to the stilted and abstruse mass emails that the University usually employs to communicate with students about services.
Although yesterday’s roundtable in Sellinger Lounge was fairly crowded, the ratio of University staff to students was roughly one-to-one. Considering that complaining about University services is Georgetown’s most popular intramural sport, it’s discouraging that more students didn’t participate in the event. The students who did show up demonstrated the usefulness of the initiative, as they offered many productive suggestions and critiques of University services.
The future usefulness of the roundtables is dependent on the participation of representatives from important departments like the University Registrar, the Center for Student Programs, and other departments that were not present at the first meeting. No department should be above criticism.
The University should also make these roundtables a permanent fixture in the academic calendar, as they are the most obvious way for the administration to be aware of the concerns of the student body. While it often seems like the University doesn’t care about student input and that students don’t care about what the administration does, these roundtables are an opportunity to change that unhealthy dynamic.
Though the roundtable was a success, it is only a first step, and it will be meaningless if the University does not translate the results into action. The administration should describe how it plans to incorporate the various complaints and suggestions of students into each department’s long-term plans. The next few months will be a test of the University’s ability to be flexible and match its priorities to the desires of the student body.
