For a campus that prides itself on research and (I assume) being moderately progressive, the multiple issues our school has faced recently — like the resignations of administrators and complaints about research ethics — seem ridiculous. The part that baffles me the most is that these problems are not new, and each time one of them is fixed, another far greater issue arises.

 

I’ve been a student at the University of Minnesota since 2013, and the one thing I have noticed is how the administration, the institution or even — dare I say — the corporation that is this fine university lacks one major quality. It lacks the accountability to say, “I take the blame.” 

 

I have never dealt with a company profiting so greatly from people like me while treating me like I’m a third-rate human being or like I’m confused or like I’m just plain wrong.

 

Go anywhere else, and you will be treated better for the amount of money you are paying.

 

The University’s motto should be, “If you have a problem, it’s not our fault: We’ll talk about it, but we won’t fix it.” Nothing is ever to be blamed on the University or at least not on one person specifically representing it — instead, the problem trickles down and gets pushed away and forgotten. 

 

We go to a school that is never wrong. No one person will say, “Yeah, I did it. I can account for that.” I am surprised there are any graduates or satisfied alumni in such a divided, fabricated and fractured system, one which celebrates small successes and circumvents major prosecution.

 

Here’s an example: If you have a problem with a professor, call OneStop Student Services, or visit the professor during office hours. The professor or OneStop representative will then refer you to a certain department desk or just mumble out an excuse. Then, after some time, you find out for yourself that there are no straightforward answers. The only precise answer is that a student will be indebted to the school, and the school [creating that debt] takes no responsibility for this action.

 

If those piloting the University want to make it feel like a scholarly community or an environment conducive to learning and education, then they need to show some accountability and work with the student body. 

 

Denial is the first sign of a problem — so what do you have to say about that?