2008 Woodie Awards
Students protest Sophomore College
ASR resolution, petition have proved ineffective against the administration's decision
Ariel Barkhurst
Issue date: 3/7/08 Section: News
The Trinity administration's decision in January to make the Sophomore College permanent and mandatory for all sophomores has prompted outrage from a portion of the student body. In fact, some of these students have taken action in an attempt to amend, postpone or revoke the administrations's decision.
Both the Association of Student Representatives (ASR) and petitioners Emily Loeffler, junior, and Jeremy Daum, senior, are among those participating in the effort. ASR, Loeffler and Daum all believe that the arguments against the mandatory Sophomore College outweigh the arguments for it.
The University, however, remains convinced that the evidence assembled by the 2006 Upper Class Task Force Report which was released Jan. 18, 2007, as well as some subsequent student surveys, justifies a mandatory Sophomore College, and so their intentions have not changed.
The Sophomore College will be located in the Prassel and South Residence Halls and one other building yet to be determined. There will be a ratio of one Resident Advisor (RA) to 30 students, lower than the current ratio in upper class dorms this year. RAs will host frequent programs geared towards helping sophomores through the hurdles of the "sophomore slump."
Campus backlash began after the January announcement that the Sophomore College was to be permanent and universal, and has increased in intensity as the semester has gone on.
ASR passed a resolution on Feb. 18, written by Senators Peter Garatoni and Adam Tutor, sophomores, which articulates the group's reasons for resisting the mandatory program.
"The resolution affirms that Sophomore College is a good program," Garatoni said. "But by making it mandatory, it takes away the good things about it."
According to Garatoni, ASR feels that last fall's survey of sophomore housing students is not adequate proof that a mandatory Sophomore College would succeed in solving the sophomore slump in the context of Trinity University, because the increase in satisfaction among sophomore housing students may not result from the housing program itself.
Both the Association of Student Representatives (ASR) and petitioners Emily Loeffler, junior, and Jeremy Daum, senior, are among those participating in the effort. ASR, Loeffler and Daum all believe that the arguments against the mandatory Sophomore College outweigh the arguments for it.
The University, however, remains convinced that the evidence assembled by the 2006 Upper Class Task Force Report which was released Jan. 18, 2007, as well as some subsequent student surveys, justifies a mandatory Sophomore College, and so their intentions have not changed.
The Sophomore College will be located in the Prassel and South Residence Halls and one other building yet to be determined. There will be a ratio of one Resident Advisor (RA) to 30 students, lower than the current ratio in upper class dorms this year. RAs will host frequent programs geared towards helping sophomores through the hurdles of the "sophomore slump."
Campus backlash began after the January announcement that the Sophomore College was to be permanent and universal, and has increased in intensity as the semester has gone on.
ASR passed a resolution on Feb. 18, written by Senators Peter Garatoni and Adam Tutor, sophomores, which articulates the group's reasons for resisting the mandatory program.
"The resolution affirms that Sophomore College is a good program," Garatoni said. "But by making it mandatory, it takes away the good things about it."
According to Garatoni, ASR feels that last fall's survey of sophomore housing students is not adequate proof that a mandatory Sophomore College would succeed in solving the sophomore slump in the context of Trinity University, because the increase in satisfaction among sophomore housing students may not result from the housing program itself.
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