• About
  • Editorial Board
  • Advertise
  • Join Us
  • Archives
The Wellesley News -
  • News and Features
    • 2020 Alumnae Achievement Awards Held Virtually; 3 Awardees Honored
      2020 Alumnae Achievement Awards Held Virtually; 3 Awardees Honored
    • Students Remember the Legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsberg
      Students Remember the Legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsberg
    • First-Year Students Reflect on Their Expectations for College, One Semester In
      First-Year Students Reflect on Their Expectations for College, One Semester In
    • News
      • News in Brief
      • Nation & World
      • President’s Corner
      • Senate Report
    • Features
      • Alumnae Spotlight
      • Eye on Science
      • Faculty Focus
      • LGBTQIA+ Column
  • Opinions
    • No image
      You have no valid reasons to oppose raising the minimum wage
    • No image
      Free the pee: cut the hygiene theater and let us use other bathrooms
    • Wellesley, why can’t you meet our dietary needs?
      Wellesley, why can’t you meet our dietary needs?
    • Staff Editorial
    • Letters to the Editor
    • The Elephant in the Room
  • Arts
    • “Judas and the Black Messiah” subverts, soars as Civil Rights story
      “Judas and the Black Messiah” subverts, soars as Civil Rights story
    • Black Entertainment Without Black Trauma: Recommendations for BHM!
      Black Entertainment Without Black Trauma: Recommendations for BHM!
    • Queer Storylines in “The Prom” Fall Flat
      Queer Storylines in “The Prom” Fall Flat
    • Arts In The News
    • Reviews
    • Music Peek
  • Health and Wellness
    • COVID-19: Popping the Wellesley Bubble
      COVID-19: Popping the Wellesley Bubble
    • No image
      Athletic impacts of Covid-19
    • No image
      A new kind of PE
    • Athlete of the Week
    • Boston Sports Update
    • The Vegan Digest
    • The SHE Corner
  • Miscellanea
    • No image
      Remote students experience existential crises; change class years in email signatures
    • President’s Column: The Butterfly Effect
      President’s Column: The Butterfly Effect
    • Your next on-campus romance isn’t going to work out
      Your next on-campus romance isn’t going to work out
    • The Artichoke
    • The Dose
    • The Olive Branch
    • Multimedia
      • Galleries
      • Infographics
      • Videos
By The Wellesley News Staff Opinions, Staff EditorialNovember 19, 2014

Wellesley lacks forums for campus-wide discussion

Wellesley attracts students who are deeply passionate about and readily jump into conversations about issues of race, gender and discrimination. Our eagerness to voice opinions about controversial campus issues distinguishes us as a student body and points out room for improvement to the college community and administration. The dispersed online discussions of many events demonstrates the lack of a common forum to talk about campus issues. Wellesley College needs a systematic method to facilitate community-wide discussion that will yield more direct and effective communication.

When the Davis Museum put up the “Sleepwalker” statue last spring, Wellesley students voiced their opposition to the statue on social media outlets. The debate reached national and international audiences. During last year’s student government elections, an anonymous student opposed Timothy Boatwright ’16, the sole candidate running for Multicultural Affairs Coordinator, through a “Campaign to Abstain” on Facebook. Students responded to the recent debate on Professor Thomas Cushman’s alleged accusations against Professor Charles Bu via Twitter and Facebook. Twitter and email served as means to gather signatures for petitions against Cushman. Students and alums have also been using social media to share their opinions on admissions policies for transgender students in single-sex colleges. On Nov. 9, students used mass email and Facebook posts to engage in a debate about the meaning of Zionism and how Wellesley approaches it, preceeded by a large poster placed in the campus center that invited students to anonmously define Zionism.   

These responses have come from many members of the College community and have covered a broad range of issues. However, the community’s responses have been scattered around social media outlets, illustrating that the Wellesley community  has not found an appropriate medium through which to mediate arguments and debate directly with one another. Additionally, people often use social media to accuse and invalidate opinions rather than facilitate discussion. Students, faculty, alumni and staff lack an effective way to constructively mediate discussions and allow everyone to express their opinions on campus. We take pride in our campus as a “safe space” but use social media in an uninviting way to hold conversations that should be held face-to-face.

Social media will only continue to grow and shape campus discussions to a greater degree. Wellesley should use this irreversible trend to our advantage and create an online space where members of the community can participate in discussions. Having a set forum for campus-wide discussions would not only incorporate everyone’s voices, but also give a voice to those who would not otherwise speak up about their opinions.

In addition to online spaces, we  need to facilitate more conversations in person. Examples of effective face-to-face discussions of campus issues include the open discussion about The New York Times Magazine article “When Women Become Men at Wellesley College” and the discussion about Professor Bu’s article, which was defined as a “safe space for students of Asian descent to share their responses.” Both of these events were successful in bringing members of the campus community together, but were singular events addressing problems that deserve more than one discussion.

In fostering more on campus conversations and providing an online discussion forum, Wellesley can offer students more opportunities for students to voice their opinions constructively. Campus conversations do not have to take away from community

Share on

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Google +
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
Previous articleWhat every Wellesley student should know about ‘grade deflation’
Next articleLetter to the Editor

You may also like

You have no valid reasons to oppose raising the minimum wage

Free the pee: cut the hygiene theater and let us use other bathrooms

A piece of pizza missing topings.

Wellesley, why can’t you meet our dietary needs?

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Email Newsletter

Sign up to receive our weekly digest in your inbox

* indicates required

Top Articles

  • Free the pee: cut the hygiene theater and let us use other b...
  • COVID-19: Popping the Wellesley Bubble
  • Queer Storylines in “The Prom” Fall Flat
  • Black Entertainment Without Black Trauma: Recommendations fo...
  • You have no valid reasons to oppose raising the minimum wage

Recent Tweets

Tweets by @Wellesley_News

The independent student newspaper of Wellesley College since 1901.

Sign up to receive our weekly digest in your inbox

* indicates required

  • About
  • Editorial Board
  • Advertise
  • Join Us
  • Archives
COPYRIGHT © 2021 THE WELLESLEY NEWS
Back to top