President disappointed with Club Card editorial
We are writing in response to “Card Counting” [Campus Times, October 5, 2006]. By what does this editorial staff measure the success and failure of the Varsity Club Cards? Why is the editorial board so quick to judge this initiative as a complete failure without giving us time to tweak and enhance the program over the entire fall semester? By writing an editorial such as you did, you seal the coffin over the Varsity Club Cards, without giving us a chance to make the changes necessary to make this program more effective. Additionally, your timing couldn’t be any worse. Many students went into mid-term exams during the last two weeks, which is one explanation for the decline in attendance at our varsity events.
Let’s talk about why the Varsity Club Cards are a success. First, the cooperative effort between the Students’ Association Government, VSAAC and Athletics & Recreation is a perfect model for other groups and departments on campus. We need more co-sponsorship and teamwork to tackle the larger issues on campus.
Second, 1,400 cards were handed out in the first week of school. That’s more than one-third of the student body, and more students than we thought would ever take advantage of the program. Once a student gets their first card, they won’t take another until they’ve gotten ten hole-punches; therefore, we probably won’t give out more cards until the current ones are completed. This actually means the cards are working!
It is time for the Editorial Staff to stop writing about campus life from their uninformed bubble. Instead of taking steps to ask questions, to get answers, and to work with campus leaders to make changes, the staff seems to draw its own conclusions from mid-air and splash it down on paper without regard to harmful effects this has. We are open to feedback and constructive criticism, but to use the student newspaper to close doors even before we can get them open all the way is just plain destructive.
-Alexander Pearlman ’07Students’ Association President
Zack Freed ’07VSAAC President
