Students are eager and prepared to take charge of their education and make impactful decisions . Photo courtesy of Butler Stories.
SLOANE MACARTHUR | OPINION COLUMNIST | mmacarthur@butler.edu
A month has passed since the announcement of Ross Hall becoming a hotel took the campus by storm, thus begging the question: shouldn’t Butler University’s decisions be made by its students?
At its heart, Butler University claims to be dedicated to creating and fostering an environment of learning, innovation and personal growth. Butler’s slogan is “We are changing what it means to be a university.” This statement reflects the university’s core values by emphasizing its commitment to preparing students. But the mission stands in stark contrast to the profit-driven motives of the university’s external partnerships.
As a first-year, I have frequently heard that Butler is “For the students, by the students.” This statement implies that every choice regarding the university has our best interest at heart and includes student input. The idea that it is “by the students” has been tossed around by the administration, even though not everyone feels this way.
How can it be “by the students” if all the choices are made because Butler has partnerships with external entities that drive these choices?
Students have stated discomfort when it comes to partnerships with major corporations. For example, Chick-fil-A, which has an astounding amount of controversy concerning its anti-LGBTQ viewpoints. Students have made it clear about their issues with connections to this franchise but the live mascot program has continued to use them as a partner.
It is evident from decisions about the hotel, dining hours and the presidential house that we as the student body are on one side, while the money-hungry partnerships that are responsible for swaying the opinions of the decision-makers are on the other.
On the other hand, Butler University partners with nonprofits and other local organizations to address social issues and foster civic responsibility among its students. Butler University partnered with Versiti, to incentivize students to donate their blood. This partnership is something that both students and the university can benefit from. Partnerships with nonprofits help students understand systemic issues in the community and contribute to our neighborhood.
However, external involvement often comes with strings attached, changing the trajectory of other projects that may not align with the university’s community-focused values. This can blur the university’s commitment to helping students and serving the Indianapolis community, replacing it with their other responsibilities to outside funders.
Butler University added the new Levinson Family Hall in 2022 with a $10 million endowment. Current and prospective students are grateful for the gift from the Levinson family. Levinson Family Hall is recognized as something to be enjoyed by all students. So why are students not happy with the Ross Hall announcement?
First-year student acting major Phinn Bitza spoke about his understanding of student encouragement surrounding the renovation.
“Students can benefit from Levinson Family Hall,” Bitza said. “I know that so many people go and study there, it is actively useful. While with the hotel, why wouldn’t you use that [to] further benefit students that are actively here?”
Levinson is something that is beneficial to administration and students, it is something that is used by multiple people everyday. But to students a new hotel seems like something that a student can’t or won’t use.
By prioritizing the mission and values over short-term financial gain, Butler University can continue to have a student-focused approach but still have amazing first impressions like what we all had coming here for the first time.
First-year history-anthropology major Addie Dobry, discussed her first impression of Butler.
“[It seemed] rich, not in a bad way,” Dobry said. “All the buildings are updated, even the old buildings have modern appliances … it was notably better than some of the other campuses that I visited.”
Butler’s campus is what draws most potential students in. Giving students that personal connection and desire to apply and become a student. I can also agree that the campus is what drew me into Butler.
We as students should be included in making those choices when it comes to what is happening on our campus. We have the skills to help make “hard choices,” and we are much more capable than we receive credit for. We all got into Butler; that in itself is an accomplishment. We have every right to make choices involving our education and the university we got accepted to and pay to attend.
