It’s another week on campus, and another wave of frustration has made its way through our community.

The divide between the administration and the student body has grown ever wider each day as conflicts escalate over budget cuts and the state of the arts at our University.

And a few weeks ago, the presidential search finalist was announced and quickly confirmed, much to the frustration of the faculty union, United Academics, and the student community.   

With the revelation that there was a second finalist and a faculty panel as part of the search process, it has become clear that the administration is not being as transparent as it should be.

Leaving out student voices in the search process was disappointing to SGA especially, who had been told they could meet with the finalist, but were not allowed this opportunity at the last minute.

Before it was announced that Suresh Garimella was the sole finalist, a second contender was up for the position as well.

It’s a slap in the face to students to keep them out of the presidential search process and in the dark about the finalists.

To have an entire faculty panel with no student equivalent reveals that the opinion of faculty was valued over the opinion of the student body.

And, to keep this information private worsens the situation. Leaving the student voice out of the search process and concealing information from us is contrary to the idea that the University is a place for students.

We have a right to know what is going on, and the University must be more open with students about what decisions are being made and why.

This is a place we pay to attend and choose to come to. We deserve to be informed on what is happening here.

It’s time to be more communicative with students and to put the needs of students first. Frustration should not be as rampant as it is and we shouldn’t have to fight to get the facts.

It feels like a tired request, to always ask for more information, but that’s exactly the problem. We are tired of asking for more.

To the administration, we ask for open lines of communication. Include us, listen to us, and inform us.

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