GUEST COLUMNIST: Stop criticizing and start thinking

Ari Silverma Ari Silverma Irvine Auditorium closes. Sansom Common construction begins. The College dean and the provost resign. Logan Hall will open in January. For the first time in the history of the University, we are going to build residential communities in all of our dormitories. Students will interact with their neighbors creating new experiences for all students in all the residences. And from now on, a Penn student will be able to be a part of a community right in his or her own residence. For all the excitement these statements seem to generate, things are not actually going to change that much. You must now be asking yourself, if things are not going to change that much, then how are we going to build communities? The answer is quite simple, but the implications are far-reaching for future Penn students. By creating support structures within existing structures, we can now build and sustain our own communities. The only change that will take place in fall 1998 is all of our residences will turn into vessels which will be receptive to in-house programming. These 12 residences will share a common base level of support and have the ability to effectively offer programs to students. Secondly, students will begin to run the residences with the ability to take these new vessels and fill them up with whatever we want. This change is big because it will require student energy, initiative and leadership. Students are not only being asked for input, but the plan lives or dies upon it. The Student Committee on Undergraduate Education has been thinking about the residential communities for several years. Although we have some reservations about this residential plan and are determined to proceed with caution, we are positive this plan is a step in the right direction. This is a residential plan that should be welcomed by the University community. SCUE is determined to work within this new framework to help form a residential system that provides important academic services and support in the residences. Yet, the students of the University won't win if SCUE alone works on this new residential plan. Student activism is needed from the entire student body at this critical time. We have a unique opportunity to form the future of the residences at Penn. Students need to band together to create house councils for every residence and begin infusing every dormitory with student ideas, initiatives and energy. There are many parts to this residential plan that are deliberately left up to the students to develop and implement. What parts of the wheel are we missing? Every part of the support base was originated by students. Now a system will exist where we can create new initiatives for students, so let's take advantage of what we have. What other type of support should be brought into the residences? Take a good look around your residence and think about what is missing. It is up to us, the students, to make sure that the new residential communities are a success. This is our great opportunity to work with faculty to create new initiatives as needed. So it is time to forget about criticizing and to begin thinking about how we can improve our situation. Penn is not perfect, but we are all trying to make it better. And as they say, "the worst enemy of the good is the perfect." Things are heading in the right direction and let's make it even better. You can be sure that SCUE will be thinking about how new programs and initiatives can be more effectively brought to students in the residences. So what are you going to be doing?