2008 Woodie Awards
WASC, climate survey reveal Saint Mary's has civility issues
Students lack courtesy toward dining, custodial staff
Stefanie Wang
Issue date: 10/24/06 Section: News
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With the rise of the Facebook group "Don't give me attitude I pay your bills" and its counter-group "I am a decent human being who ALSO pays 40k to attend this school" forming in reaction to Sodexho employees and their "attitudes." The concern is raised of whether or not Saint Mary's is true to its principles.
The October 16 Campus Bulletin released the climate survey from spring '06. The compilation of faculty, staff, and student responses show that the school is not successfully promoting the five Lasallian Core Principles. The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) committee, an association that is one of six regional associations that accredit all public and private schools and colleges, "strongly recommends that the College rededicate itself to building a highly functioning multicultural community, consistent with and informed by two of the Lasallian Tradition's Core Principles, 'Respect for all Persons' and 'Inclusive Community.'"
The majority of the WASC reports focused on the racial and ethnic differences in the Saint Mary's community and said that Saint Mary's is a practitioner of "benevolent racism, which take the form of: 'I am doing this for your own good.'" Statistics from the report show that staff morale is low as well; 45.4 percent of those who took the survey last spring either disagreed or strongly disagreed that "faculty morale is good on this campus." Another issue that faculty believes Saint Mary's should improve upon is promoting collaboration between different offices.
Shawny Anderson, the assistant dean of liberal arts, said that these are often problems for small schools like Saint Mary's. She said that the attitude toward new members of the community is more like "Come on out, get on board" as opposed to "Come on out, what can we learn from you?" Anderson believes that this raises the question, "How do we function as a community?" She said that the primary focus of the school is the students and when a "Facebook war" occurs, it is very shocking and interesting to see.
The October 16 Campus Bulletin released the climate survey from spring '06. The compilation of faculty, staff, and student responses show that the school is not successfully promoting the five Lasallian Core Principles. The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) committee, an association that is one of six regional associations that accredit all public and private schools and colleges, "strongly recommends that the College rededicate itself to building a highly functioning multicultural community, consistent with and informed by two of the Lasallian Tradition's Core Principles, 'Respect for all Persons' and 'Inclusive Community.'"
The majority of the WASC reports focused on the racial and ethnic differences in the Saint Mary's community and said that Saint Mary's is a practitioner of "benevolent racism, which take the form of: 'I am doing this for your own good.'" Statistics from the report show that staff morale is low as well; 45.4 percent of those who took the survey last spring either disagreed or strongly disagreed that "faculty morale is good on this campus." Another issue that faculty believes Saint Mary's should improve upon is promoting collaboration between different offices.
Shawny Anderson, the assistant dean of liberal arts, said that these are often problems for small schools like Saint Mary's. She said that the attitude toward new members of the community is more like "Come on out, get on board" as opposed to "Come on out, what can we learn from you?" Anderson believes that this raises the question, "How do we function as a community?" She said that the primary focus of the school is the students and when a "Facebook war" occurs, it is very shocking and interesting to see.