Carrie Frazier, an arts and humanities sophomore and coordinator of the Facebook.com group “Students Against Academic Calendar Change,” distributes a leaflet Thursday to elementary education freshman Josh McAlary behind Wells Hall to help save Welcome Week from being shortened in the MSU academic calendar. Frazier felt the curtailing of Welcome Week is wrong and not beneficial for students, especially freshman.
Susan Cooper stooped over the rock on Farm Lane and dipped her paint brush into the can of white paint.
But instead of brushing a fresh coat of paint onto the rock Wednesday, her brush connected with the back of her sister’s green shirt and formed the words that later appeared on the rock — save Welcome Week.
“When I came here last year as a freshman, I was really excited to have, like, a week to settle in and get to know the area,” the no-preference sophomore said. “I would have gotten lost if I didn’t have that time to adapt to the new surroundings.”
Hundreds of past and present Spartans are weighing in on a proposal to shorten Welcome Week and extend the final exam schedule through groups and events listed on Facebook.com.
The proposal could begin as soon as next fall.
For psychology sophomore Melissa Miller, joining a group and talking about change wasn’t enough.
“If we don’t put it out there, who’s going to do it?” Miller said as she applied paint to the rock’s base.
Members from one Facebook event hope to send a message to Provost Kim Wilcox before a final decision is reached and those messages won’t come through the social networking Web site.
“Students Against Academic Calendar Change First Meeting” was created Monday by arts and humanities sophomore Carrie Frazier.
Almost 500 members joined the event as of Wednesday evening.
One of its first acts meant to raise student awareness included painting the rock, but several members will meet with Wilcox on Monday morning to make their case against the proposed calendar changes.
Wilcox was not available to comment Wednesday.
Frazier first heard of the administration’s plans to eliminate Welcome Week and change final exams when Sandte Stanley, ASMSU’s Academic Assembly vice chairperson for external affairs, spoke about the proposal during a Snyder Hall floor meeting.
The proposed changes took many residents by surprise, said Julie Cooper, an interdisciplinary studies in social science and human resources and society senior and Susan Cooper’s sister.
Julie Cooper didn’t know Frazier before Monday, but she knew students had to do something to try and change Wilcox’s mind.
“It’s not that students don’t care and that’s why they’re not doing anything,” Julie Cooper said.
“It’s because they don’t know. I think if they knew, they could have the opportunity to do something.”
Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
