Most of SIUC’s student body is unaware of the influence that the Board of Trustees has on this campus, not to mention who the members are that make up the board. To make matters worse, the board is aware of this too, and its lack of involvement with the student body is testament to that.

That is a serious problem on this campus. While the University is attempting to increase communication between students and administrators, board members, which makes the ultimate decisions affecting the campus, rarely comes to campus to visit with those affected by their decisions. The last time that the board members did come to speak with SIU students was in 1994. The scarcity of visits by trustees shows how unconcerned they are with student input.

Such an image of inaccessibility also was a problem at the University of Illinois until recently. On Feb. 12, the U of I Board of Trustees visited the Champaign-Urbana campus to discuss problems and ideas at an open forum with students. Some students protested issues while others asked questions or simply talked with the board members. After the successful meeting, the board planned visits to the other U of I campuses to visit with students.

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The SIU Board of Trustees should seriously consider such action. Many of those that do understand the board’s duties view the members as disinterested in students’ inputs or concerns. They see the board as the body that makes decisions without giving students consideration. At a June meeting, Board Member John Brewster said trustees should not deal directly with students or any University constituency group.

The trustees have a responsibility to the entire University community, he said, Everyone wants to go directly to the trustee, but if you bypass the administration, then the process breaks down.

To meet directly with them would be inappropriate for all trustees.

If the board continues to embrace such an attitude and remains out of touch with students, much like a king staying in his castle while forcing others to carry out his unpopular decrees, they will lose touch with the true needs of SIUC. It is impossible to effectively govern if you do not have contact with those you preside over.

If the board members occasionally visited SIUC and the other SIU campuses, it would improve relations with the students, which would eventually lead to an improvement of the University as a whole. Students would be able to ask questions and find out why some decisions are made and how the board operates.

Issues such as the athletic fee increase could be discussed and the reasoning behind it explained. Since the board has the final decisions on the fee, their answers would mean more than those of Chancellor Donald Beggs or Athletic Director Jim Hart, who fielded questions from more than 50 protesters at the Undergraduate Student Government meeting Feb. 11.

Having one student trustee to speak on behalf of the entire student body is not an appropriate way for the Board of Trustees to gauge the problems that exist on campus. In order for them to obtain a realistic view, they too have to have a personable, hands-on approach the institutions in their control.

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Coming to campus would help increase communication between the board and administrators, as well as communication between the board and students. Face-to-face contact between the students and the board might break down some preconceived notions of each and show that each does care what the other does.

Leadership means making unpopular decisions sometimes, but good leadership always listens to a variety of opinions first. If coming to the campus could only improve the Board’s relationship with students, what do they have to fear?