As I am preparing to graduate and leave the campus that I now consider home, I am please to see that there are a number of individuals committed to the establishment of campus unity, spirit, and pride. I personally commend Jennifer Reese and all of those involved in the campus community project. In response to the SGA update in last week's issue of Newspeak, I would like to offer a number of my own personal opinions on community, spirit, and pride, and the best way to bring them to WPI.
I believe that community is best facilitated through the sharing of common experience. For a moment, step back to freshman year living in a residence hall The people that you really bonded to, the people who you now talk to; you shared many common experiences with them that you will forever keep. On a much larger campus-wide scale, development of community is a far more involved and complicated task. Unity does not necessarily come through the establishment of direct inter-personal relationships. People are fundamentally different from each other and some ere simply not compatible with others. We do not necessarily share common interests, ideas, or goals. But there is one thing that each of us do share - the history of this campus - and this is where we should focus our unity building efforts.
WPI is unique in its approach to education. With much chagrin, it is equally unique in its presentation of campus history - in short, there is a near absence of it. As freshmen, we are handed a tiny Tech Bible and asked to attend an optional 'history of the founding' session in Alden Hall. From there we are left to conduct historic studies on our own with very few researching tools at our disposal. The archives, which should be an impeccable source, are far from that. From my own personal experience, if one enters them with an ultra-specific researching goal in mind, one is chased away with no information gained and an increased sense of apathy towards the institution. WPI is indeed unique in the sense that it offers minimal tactile history to its students. Many colleges and universities across the country have entire museums devoted to the history of the campus for their students to rally behind, be proud of, and take pride in preserving. Why don't we, the second oldest polytechnic university in the United States, have one?
As a student, I am very disheartened with the unwritten policy of locking away artifacts of historical importance to this campus without regret. For example, I find it ironic that Skull organization, involved in preserving the history and traditions of WPI has taken such a historic building (both to the campus and science itself) for its own secretive uses. WPI, its organizations, and traditions have changed with the interests of the times. The use of fire hoses in rope pull this fall is a good example. Would it not make sense to update the purpose and activities of this organization as well? Before I graduate, I have but one suggestion to make to the students and administration of this campus.
Open the magnetic laboratory to the WPI community in the form of a campus museum. The skull organization, its initiation rituals, and primary goals will not be compromised in any way. Members of the organization will be given the distinctive honor of becoming a museum curator several hours per week. They will be responsible for creating historical displays within the museum and actively educating the student public one on one about the traditions of the campus. The magnetic lab may be closed to the public at night for the purpose of conducting organization-related rituals. I am sure that any required cost to alter the interior of the building and provide adequate display cases would be provided by alumni and various related organizations.
Foolishness and idealism, you say? I think not. Some might believe that the utilization of members as museum curators would force them to do excess work. To those people, I argue that there are many devoted individuals on this campus like myself who would consider such duties a distinctive and rare honor. Through redefinition of the organization, the individual member position would earn back much of the respect that it has lost over the years. The creation of a museum would establish a tangible spirited center for students to rally around, fostering a far increased chance of campus community development.
I see my suggestions as a win-win situations. With current and recently tapped skull members so actively involved in both SGA and SocComm, I see this as being a pivotal time in campus history. At this moment, more than ever, there exist great possibilities for campus community involvement. I have presented my ideas. The members of SGA, SocComm, and Skull may disregard them and compromise a distinct step toward campus unity or they may listen and participate in a bold and honorable experiment. The choice is their own. After making such an intrepid statement in last week's issue of Newspeak, I trust that these organizations are willing to make good on their visions. I strongly urge every student of this campus to voice their opinion on this issue to members of the involved groups. If there is one thing that I have learned in my four years on this campus, it is that one person truly can make a difference. I encourage all of you to do your part to make this campus great.
Sincerely,
Michael A. Burzycki, '98