She's our leader and representative.
It's MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon's job to be the university's leader when relating to the community. Students are vital members of the university, so part of Simon's job is to be our voice, too.
At times, she's trying to do this, but the signals she sends out are mixed.
A letter sent out to permanent residents acknowledging "disruptive alcohol-induced behavior" by younger residents sends out one message: Students are immature and their behavior needs to be reprimanded.
Next, she is spreading a message of cooperation between students and residents, as the key to resolving tension in East Lansing. In this message, students are "innovators," who play an important role in the community.
Clearly, this is a much better representation of who students are.
The problem is with the conflicting messages that are being sent.
Apologizing on behalf of students implies students are to blame for the city's problems.
And then, she tells the community students are important to the city and need to be considered as East Lansing's vision.
It doesn't add up.
Simon is the political leader of this institution. When she sends out a letter like the most recent one, it speaks for all of us.
Part of her role should be to fight for students, not to indict them for perceived bad behavior.
Promoting cooperation between students and residents is an excellent cause. It is great that Simon is trying to foster better relationships. Cooperation between the city, the university, students and residents definitely can be improved.
However, it can't just be on the city's terms. Simon needs to ensure students' concerns are expressed in the community.
She had an opportunity to do this in the aftermath of the April 2-3 disturbances, but never took a firm stand on the issue. It was an issue many students felt very strongly about, so shouldn't their leader have responded strongly as well?
Students might not have a direct role in choosing the university's president, but they still deserve to be represented by the person holding such an important position.
Simon needs to be leading us in promoting a better relationship within the community, not bashing us behind our backs.
