It's time tradition was broken

Chapin Benninghoff's position as interim co-chair of Student Life Committee marks the first time a faculty committee has been co-chaired by a student. There's no way that this should be the last time ... especially if improvements are to be made in areas of Student Life and Student/Faculty interaction and especially if students are qualified for such positions. Apparently, there had never been a concrete rule forbidding students from chairing or co-chairing faculty committees. Tradition, however, demanded it. It must be understood that in the case of the Student Life Committee, tradition didn't bend easily. Tradition's sudden change of heart was necessitated by miserable faculty attendance to the Student Life meeting. Meaning what? Meaning if faculty had attended as they were supposed to, there would still have never been a faculty committee chaired or co-chaired by a student. Also, had Benninghoff, for better or worse, not made himself an extremely loud and very visible force on campus, in campus politics, and on the Student Life Committee, tradition would have stuck. This is not to say that a student co-chair will ensure any remotely immediate change or a better life for students. There is the real possibility that many students might feel ill-represented or not represented by Benninghoff or future student chairs of committees. There is also the very real possibility that misguided, underqualified students will seek chair positions. Another possibility is that the chair position and the committee are powerless, serving only as hollow symbols of what Oberlin could, but will never be. Benninghoff, himself calls his new position a "glorified gofer."

But, all this aside, one must wonder why there were no students ever elected to chair or co-chair committees as potentially influential and fundamental to student life as the Student Life Committee. Students, particularly qualified students, should occasionally occupy chair positions on all committees that directly affect student life. Where are the student chairs or co-chairs of committees like the Student Financial Aid Committee, the Honor System Committee or the Student Assemblies Committee? Tradition has proven that faculty and administration, for whatever reason, won't simply look for students to fill these spots. Interested students, then, must make themselves heard. Though Benninghoff's past actions and new position will be justifiably dissected by many, for those interested in structural interworkings and change at Oberlin, his initiative and activism around issues affecting Oberlin students are examples to be followed and understood. Now, when the administration says it seeks student voices, is the time for students to educate themselves and become involved in committees that do make a difference now.