Letter From the Editor: ‘I Didn’t Think I’d Be Writing This’

I have to confess something: I didn’t think I’d be writing this.

This is true for a couple of reasons, but mostly because I wasn’t sure I’d be editor-in-chief again. Though I am immensely grateful for the position and proud of what I did last year, it was exhausting. You can’t exactly clock out of this role.

In preparation for writing this letter, I read my first letter “Welcome Back Brits” to try to remind myself what I sought to do:

“Hold the administration to the highest standards of honesty and communication with regard to its students, staff and faculty.”

This brings me to the second reason I didn’t think I’d be writing this article: Before now, I thought that the communication between the administration and its student body had improved. 

Communication From the Administration Still Has a Long Way to Go

Today, a guest column, “Three of My Professors Left This Year ” written by a friend of mine, Walled Lake junior Shay Athayde, was published.

In it, she details the experience of learning that three of her professors (one being her advisor) had left the college for various reasons, from different sources – none of which came directly from the college’s administration or department heads. 

That is simply unacceptable.

‘Don’t the Students of Albion College Deserve to Know Who is Leaving?’

Since the first day of classes, I have learned of six fairly prominent professors having left the college. For such a small campus, with departments often only comprised of a handful of professors, don’t the students of Albion College deserve to know who is leaving, and when they leave?

As of writing this letter, former Ethnic Studies Professor Dominick Quinney is still listed as such on the college website, yet he was announced as the Director of MSU’s Drew Science Scholars Program on Aug. 20.

I can understand not updating the website, what I cannot understand is the lack of transparency. 

The connections I have built with my professors are some of the biggest reasons why I feel at home at Albion College. This is true for many of us. The small classroom sizes allow for closer-knit bonds. Our professors are more than just our teachers, they are our advisors, supporters and familiar faces. We deserve to know when they leave.

Maybe you agree with me or maybe you don’t.

Moving Forward: Letters to the Editor

Another intention I had last year was to “write stories that matter, stories of consequence and, ultimately, stories you want to read.”

This summer I worked at the Detroit Free Press. I got to work with journalists who have written and continue to write stories that matter. My primary job as an editorial intern was to sort through letters to the editor. Until now, the Pleiad has not received any guest columns or letters to the editor in my time as editor-in-chief.

This is something I want to change, something that needs to change.

So before I end this letter, I want to ask what you all think. I want to urge you to send letters in response to articles and columns that you might want published. I’m working on an easier way to do this, but for now, send them to pleiad@albion.edu. 

The Pleiad is the voice of the students; curated for the campus community. I want to hear your voices. After all, the Pleiad is as much yours as it is ours.