LETTER: Apathetic Attitudes

To the Editor: Administrators should feel responsible for solving the problems of students. Furthermore, they should want to take the initiative for improving policies that are not advantageous to students. In cases where administrators themselves have no solutions, they should facilitate pathways by which students can obtain remedies. Often, we hear statements like "There's nothing I can do," or "That's just the system." These administrators need to stop acting like gatekeepers and refrain from rationalizing ineffective policies. Everyone realizes that students are sometimes overly picky and demanding. However, there are still many worthy student concerns which deserve genuine care and attention from the staff. Such care, even a small amount, goes a long way in providing a better quality of life for the students. Once again, we stress that we have found many administrators who have helped students reach the resources they need at Penn. But we have observed many other employees of the University who are not devoted to the students. Why, then, do they choose to work here? We feel that devotion to students at the University is an indispensable and fundamental basis of an administrator's employment responsibilities. It's time for employees who hold apathetic attitudes to pause and reconsider the importance of their roles at Penn. ROBERT DIETZ College '93 DARREN KLEIN Wharton '93