Lack of Participation

This Tuesday and Wednesday, students were invited by Dean of Faculty Ronald Kim and the principal search committee to express qualities they find most important in our next principal in meetings that took place throughout campus. The principal search affects each member of the Exeter community, whether they are preps, seniors, faculty, staff or alumni, and it can determine Exeter’s trajectory as an institution. Furthermore, as a school made of unique and opinionated minds, I expected enormous popularity among students for the meetings. After six of the first meetings, however, a search committee member said that only four students in total had attended.This firstly prompts a discussion on the possible deterrents with which students were confronted. Given that this is such a universally applicable decision for each student, why did so few decide to participate? When I first clicked on the email link to sign up, I was perturbed by the fact that the only available sessions were during classes, meaning a student would have to use precious free periods or even skip a class to go. Free time is a precious commodity here, and to work the meetings into already complex schedules could present challenges and probably deterred people from attending.Secondly, while students are often bold and outspoken in class, many were uncomfortable with the idea of sitting alone in a room with members of a committee with whom they weren’t familiar. The email signup also provided little detail, leaving the structure and expectations of the meeting unclear and rather ambiguous for an interested student. Or simply, students might not believe that their ideas and opinions matter in this process—something disappointing and concerning in and of itself.It’s rather simple to imagine a long list of plausible and even valid excuses any student here could use to not take part in the meetings. Perhaps the search committee should have held meetings with more students and at more convenient times, but I do not believe they are wholly to blame.To shy away from this opportunity, looking at the broader picture, seems illogical for any member of the Academy. In over 230 years, this school has employed but 14 principals. To attend the school in a time where this shift is taking place is not only statistically improbable but also presents a unique chance for participation in an event that will likely have lasting impacts for decades to come.When I attended my meeting, I was met with members of IT, Facilities, Institutional Advancement, College Counseling and a few faculty members. Of the 12 or 13, I was the only student. While the interest to express opinions that could potentially be pivotal or, at the very least, helpful, seemed to spread to many corners of the Academy, the most important group of opinions, unfortunately, was severely underrepresented.The meeting itself, while meant to be open, ended up seeming disorganized and lacking in direction. While many interesting points were presented, few were relevant to the desired subject of conversation. As the meeting continued, the group became more focused on preferred characteristics and goals for a future principal. Ultimately, I left with a better understanding of the principal search process, the opinions of others and even my own thoughts. These all seem like valuable and even quantifiable tools for any student to have a better understanding of the inner workings of a system of which we’re all a part.Each and every student had the opportunity to participate by adding their voice or even just listening. And yet, fewer than a dozen chose to, representing about 1 percent of the student population on campus. In spite of this, many students complain about lack of candor and transparency from the administration, and how few opportunities students have to express their voices.But perhaps students would prefer to continue complaining, because when the opportunity to add to and affect an enormously important discussion presented itself, I couldn’t help but be ashamed by the lack of participation.