I am really excited to see all the articles calling out the SGA and the UA administration that have appeared in the CW this semester, and I can’t agree more with John Davis’ “Free the Docs, and why it matters.”

Every year, like clockwork, I have seen SGA scandals, highly publicized racial incidents, compounding overcrowding problems and an administration that lacks the conviction and the courage to step up to the plate and lead by example. In fact, the UA administration conducts itself in ways that remind me of a public relations firm. Whenever something happens that could potentially cause a decline in alumni donations, garner some negative news coverage, or cause a potential student to question if UA is right for them, they scramble to sweep it under the rug and cover their backsides. Calling FERPA on every scandal that rolls by is just one way they do it.

FERPA was meant to keep student privacy safe from people or institutions that have no business knowing a student’s academic record, not as a legal catch-all to protect university administrations and SGAs from their responsibility to be transparent.

I don’t want to know Grant Cochran’s GPA, I don’t care how much his expected family contribution on his FAFSA is, and it is not my business how much scholarship he does or doesn’t get. I care that, as my SGA President, he was elected to serve me as a student, and that he presided over an SGA administration rocked with yet another scandal and was forced to resign. I care about the details relevant to his and others’ actions leading up to his resignation.

I don’t find it unreasonable for an elected official to have to disclose relevant information that would have them held accountable to the students for their misdoings. But for the always image conscious UA administration, that seems like just too much to swallow.

Just like it was too much to swallow when, two years ago, people on the behalf of soon-to-be SGA president Steven Oliver were illegally registering students to vote in the Student Recreation Center locker rooms, among many other allegations of voter fraud and election rules violations. An election where the independent students were finally inspired to shake off their apathy and disenfranchisement and vote (it was one of the closest elections in recent record), and what were they met with?

An administration that lacked the courage to do more than sweep the problems under the rug, hide behind FERPA, and chalk one up for the status quo. I have never felt a more intense and pervasive sense of betrayal and anger among the student body than what existed during the two weeks after that election.

And when the now infamous Justin Zimmerman incident happened on campus last year, it was again too hard to swallow for the UA PR machine. Students were met with rushed and garbled emails, stating that UA’s culture is one of racial harmony, tolerance and respect and that this was an isolated incident.

An isolated incident?

Members of marginalized groups having slurs thrown their way and openly coerced when they were just minding their own business? Perhaps this is true in the halls of Rose Administration.

I have to hand it to Dr. Witt when it comes to physically and academically growing this University – regardless of how you feel about the sharp rise in numbers around here, it is hard to deny his administration’s success in crushing their goals for enrollment growth and for bringing more academic talent to the Capstone than ever.

But, I am not alone in feeling like the increasing importance they have placed on numbers has lead them to forsake their responsibilities as leaders of the student body in areas that can’t be measured on a stats sheet. Like taking an active role in partnering with the many student organizations that are working hard to move campus culture forward or by introducing initiatives of their own for the same purpose.

Like recognizing that part of the “quality of the student experience” they claimed wouldn’t be adversely affected by our exponential growth includes both the enormous lines and lack of sitting room at Fresh Food during lunch.

So please, Dr. Witt, step away from your spreadsheet of fall’s enrollment breakdown and your copy of the latest Princeton Review college rankings, and take a walk outside of Rose Administration. There are a lot of students who are really angry with your administration and some of the things that have gone on under its watch, but if you show you are sincerely ready to listen and be transparent and honest, that you wish to lead this university forward with courage and conviction, we might all be surprised by how quickly that anger and finger pointing turns into a rush of cooperative progress.

Andrew Forsman is a senior majoring in psychology.