The students behind the ink

Robert Powers- Staff Writer

A William Jewell College academic adviser once told me, “Maybe college isn’t for you, Robert.” I will be graduated this May with a bachelor’s of arts in English and history, a member of each major’s respective national academic honor society, having made the dean’s list twice and working at least one job, all in only three years.  Apparently, however, college is not for me.

The WJC Faculty Handbook states that the adviser “attempts to help advisees interpret responsibly the objectives and regulations of the College, to take a positive attitude toward them, and to understand and think through their choices with respect to them” (4.5.3). This academic adviser in the aforementioned scenario failed to respect me or take a positive attitude toward me. Instead of helping me grow intellectually, this academic adviser made me feel excluded from the College community.

Increasingly, I am noticing blatant unprofessionalism among faculty members. I have seen professors discredit ideas students raise purely because of who uttered them, and later accept the same argument from another student. I have attended classes here at William Jewell in which the professor has asked students to bet on the arrival time of a generally tardy student. I hear professors talking about students outside of class, sometimes even with other students. Emails from students are ignored, never answered or lost in an inbox full of more significant emails sent from very important people. In all of these cases, the professor is disgracing the integrity of his or her professional occupation.
There is definitely a time and place to have fun, but it should never come at the cost of students’ education or well-being. In the classroom, intellectual discourse, not personal barriers, should be the epicenter. Education is sometimes uncomfortable, especially when one first learns new concepts or when once challenges previously-held beliefs, but it should never be a hostile environment. Students pay over $829 per credit hour (assuming an annual tuition of $26,550 and the completion of 32 credits) to be educated in a thoughtful and meaningful way, not to be harassed. It is true that not every faculty member is engaging in inappropriate behavior, but the negative experiences some faculty foster can permeate the mind, leaving a student detached from his or her education.

In May 2010, the Board of Trustees adopted the College-wide Honor Code. It reads:  “As a member of the William Jewell community, I commit myself to the highest personal standards of conduct and integrity. I will not cheat, lie, or steal, nor will I tolerate these actions by others within this community.” The Hill is intended to be a community, and that connotes all members, administrators, faculty, staff and students, should feel welcome. I have seen intellectual opportunity for growth stolen by members of the faculty. Abiding by the College Honor Code, I am denouncing their actions.

As a future alumnus of the College, I wish to reflect fondly upon my time spent here. Lately, however, the increasing lack of professionalism among some of the faculty has been pressing on my mind. If this institution truly cares about the intellectual well-being of its students, I compel its faculty to assume a more professional role both inside and outside of the classroom.