As the administrators of a public institution and the stewards of tuition dollars, the Texas State administration has an obligation to be open with the student body, but the recent record of administrators does not reflect this obligation.
Over the past few years, individuals have posted racially charged flyers across campus. Other individuals have scared and inconvenienced students with a series of bomb threats. The University Police Department has the identity of the individuals responsible for these attempts but has chosen to protect these individuals over the interests of the students. Meanwhile, the student body remains in the dark about the details or any developments around the events after constant requests.
UPD has chosen to give anonymity to individuals who have fueled the charged campus climate over supporting inclusivity for the students who appreciate Texas State. Our university gives far too many liberties to people who have only sought to harm students.
What makes the Texas State administration’s behavior even more peculiar is that The University of Texas at Dallas, one of our peer institutions, had a similar issue with flyers on campus and obtained the identities of the individuals responsible. Unlike Texas State, The University of Texas at Dallas released that information in a police report obtained by The University Star.
If this is how one of our peer institutions is handling a similar situation, then there is significant reason to expect Texas State to do the same.
We can see that students are fed up with the secretive and sometimes apathetic attitudes of administrators as a Twitter account named “Expose TXST” recently surfaced. The account has a goal of deterring prospective students from enrolling at Texas State unless the administration makes an affirmative effort to correct its shortcomings.
Students are entitled to public information by law. Therefore, any resistance to be transparent with students is a betrayal of the administration’s duty to students.
Administrators can continue to offer, “no comment” for students’ questions but students will not be pacified much longer.
The lack of authenticity in President Denise Trauth’s statements sent via email has resulted in students disregarding them as public relations fodder. This idea that administration members feel comfortable treating students’ issues as no more than opportunities to practice good public relations is a testament to how invincible they currently feel in their positions. And as with any position that is meant to serve the public, they should not feel secure while their constituency is unhappy.
Texas State administration is not responding to the demands of the student body authentically and in turn, is eroding the image and credibility of the university. The Texas State administration owes transparency to its students.