Dear Daily 49er Editorial Board,
Thank you for your excellent coverage of the ongoing controversy regarding the changes to our CSULB commencement ceremonies. As chair of the Academic Senate, I am writing to let you know something you probably already realize: As you felt “a lack of communication between the administration and student body” in this instance, we felt a parallel lack of communication between administration and faculty. We hope that the administration, most of whom are actually quite communication-oriented, will take this opportunity to reexamine the processes that led to a poor decision such as the change in commencement. We all understand the need for safety and the need to save money, but if we talk to each other we might find better ways to achieve those goals together.
Also, I just wanted to point out that it is incorrect that the Academic Senate is “a body with no student representation.” The Senate is actually the only body on campus that has elected representatives from all four major constituencies of our university: students (the ASI president, the ASI chief academic officer, and three elected student Senators), faculty, staff, and administrators. As such, the Academic Senate is the perfect place for communication and collaboration across our CSULB campus community.
Best wishes,
Norbert Schürer
English Department, CSULB
