I transfered from Guelph (after 2 years there) and selected Trent specifically because I was looking for the community that Traill and PR offered. I was very happy to be admitted to Traill and immediately felt part of a community.
Trent was very important to my personal and professional development. I was involved in theatre in the downtown core, I started my vocation as a visual artist, I learned Spanish and went on to complete my M.A. in Spanish. and most importantly I met a variety of wonderful people there, artists, teachers, staff and students.
The community of artists, teachers, staff and students in an intimate setting is one thing that makes Trent very unique. I can honestly say that I have never been to an academic institution that has the wonderful atmosphere that Trent has, precisely because it is diverse, both spacially and culturally. These qualities make it an interesting, varied, stimulating and exciting place to be.
That is why I feel that if the university community is centralized outside of Peterborough it will create an us vs. them feeling, which is a problem in so many universities around the country. It will deaden the lively and creative exchanges of thoughts and ideas that the downtown core of Peterborough has. It will destroy the unique attributes of Trent University.
I fear that it will isolate the university from its host community, Peterborough. When I was in Peterborough, there was a lively exchange of ideas between university students and residents of the city, and that is part of what university is meant to do, be a mirror to society and stimulate discussion in society. Because of the smallness of the downtown campuses and their geographical setting, they facilitate an exchange of ideas. They take ideas out of the ivory tower! Do you want to put them back in?
Let me tell you about some of the reasons why I transferred to Trent. One is that I wanted the community that Trent offered. After the impersonal bigness of the other university I was at, both in student population and architecturally, I was very relieved to be at Trent. Spacially the downtown campuses are very cosy, and so they develop a close community. They are also integrated with the community around them which helps then become a part of the larger community. Trent had very good relations with the city, which is demonstrated by such things as an efficient bus service which is extraordinarily cheap! Students get a season's pass for a fraction of the cost that students at other universities do. This convenience and its good relationship with the city were also factors that encouraged me to transfer to Trent.
Of course, not everyone is dissatisfied with bigness, and not everyone feels that it is impersonal. But there are a variety of humans and human needs in society, and Trent University with Traill and PR answered the needs of people like me superbly. Just as there are a variety of human needs in society so there should be a variety of institutions to fill those needs. Society isn't homogenous and its institutions shouldn't be homogenous.
Moreover, we live in a representational democracy. For the sake of convenience and efficiency we do not have a census to make every decision, so we delegate responsibilties. It is the presidentīs responsibility to make the best decisions that she can, after consultation with other elected and non elected representatives. But, when the the constituency, (which I believe includes: alumni, city residents and university employees) makes its desires known, then the president must submit to the will of the people. If the president does not respond by carrying out our will, she is irresponsible. In that case she should submit her resignation. The office of the president is there to make our lives easier and to carry out our instructions. In my opinion, it is not for the president to make decisions that oppose the majority.
I believe that centralizing everything in the north campus will homogenize Trent University. Homogenizing Trent will decrease its value for people like me. Ten years ago if I had seen a Trent that the current president wants to create, I would not have come. I was disillusioned with university bigness, isolation and impersonalness. I would have finished my degree and stopped. The Trent communities and my experiences at Trent rekindled my faith and my love of learning. I fould an artistic vocation and a profession there. I felt belonging there,in the hominess of Traill and PR.
I would like to thank the professors and staff at Trent University for their kindness, concern and dedication. You were all very influencial in my development.
Yours sincerely,
D. Peter Louwerse
B.A., B.Ed., M.A