When you think of Christmas Break, what normally comes to mind? Christmas presents, spending time with family and friends, snow, and the sense of the Christmas spirit all seem to startle some fond memories. It’s also a time to be able to separate yourself from school, and not think of the constant politics that have seemed to almost plague our university this semester.

However, that somewhat simple task was not accomplished.

As I prepared for the events of New Years Eve, I opened up a copy of the Sunday edition of the Chicago Tribune. Located in the Sunday edition of the Tribune is the Chicago Magazine. I opened up the first page or so and found myself in the Editorial section. The headline scared me instantly. ‘A Troubled SIU.’

Advertisement

In the article, a father who was sending his son off to college was facing the choice of sending his son to SIU or to a school in Michigan. The father pointed out issues with SIU such as a rundown looking campus, issues with the chancellor, a faculty concerned more with their salaries than the actual courses that they taught and complaints in the Daily Egyptian over tuition increases. To rub more salt in the wound, the Associated Press reported that spring enrollment at SIU would fall again, after the school reported a 2 percent decrease in enrollment from the previous semester.

Damage control, anyone?

What is the university doing now to combat this criticism? Do we really want residents in the Chicagoland area having this perception of our university? How is the university planning how to attract more students to Carbondale in the fall of 2007?

I cannot speak for the masses, but personally, all the information I received when researching SIU, I had to request. While other schools I was considering sent me large amounts of mail and called me to follow up on my decision, SIU seemed to neglect offering me information. Yet, the reputation of my major combined with speaking with alumni who told me that SIU had much to offer, I chose this school. But what if I didn’t go out and find the information, or had such a strong network of alumni to talk to? Would I have chosen SIU? Would I have been one more loss in the falling enrollment?

There is a large task at hand to fix what has gone wrong. The administration needs to come up with a plan to not only rebuke what is being reported in the newspapers, but also solidify a plan to make SIU a top choice for graduating high school seniors. We need to establish ourselves as a top school and promote our university as a place to receive a strong education.

Will it be easy to clean up our image? No. But is it necessary? Yes. Unfortunately, this isn’t Extreme Home Makeover. Ty Pennington and his cast of characters are not going to show up at the steps up Anthony Hall and yell out from a megaphone to come step out the doors. There is no elaborate vacation for us while the Extreme Makeover team works on our marketing strategy. There is no big tearful reveal when we return from the trip. The administration needs to get down to the nitty-gritty to make sure that all potential students are catered to and make sure that every question they have about this university is answered. They need to feel welcomed, and we need to help the cause by putting whatever we can into this university to make it more appealing and end these hurtful reports.

Let’s just make sure that future students don’t have to worry and stress out about their school’s image over Christmas Break.

Advertisement*