President Patterson:
Thank-you for your e-mail of January 14 on the situation with respect to the future of Trent. Yes, I am one of those alumna who have been reading about the current crisis on the web-site set up by other alumni and current students (I would assume that this is the group you refer to as 'individuals'), and I have been waiting for the appropriate time to add my voice to the throng. Your letter provided the needed catalyst.
First of all, I find it quite interesting that you begin your letter by impuning the integrity of your opponents, when you omit what I consider the most striking aspect of this whole process, which is that your plan was opposed by the main decision-making body of the university - the Senate. I believe that your administrative over-ride of this vital academic forum of the University amounts to a bureaucratic colonization of the very heart of the institution. The precedent set is appalling, and your omission of this fact in your memo is equally telling.
What does your letter say about your vision for Trent? I read there talk of growth and of financial exigiencies which point inescapably to mega-building and large-scale housing of students. It seems rather like cutting off the patient's head in order to save her life; it's done for all the right reasons but the strategy reveals a fundamental incomprehension of what keeps the body alive. If you really did want to preserve the college system, academic programs, small classes, and the emphasis on the individual student - as you mention further down in the letter - you would understand that these are precisely and irrevocably threatened by your plan. The town colleges are far more than just 'pictures in our heads' - for myself and for many, many other past and present students they embody precisely the kind of learning and living environment that it was worth travelling far from home to attend. Even now as I talk to my children about Trent I refer to this unique juxtaposition of small Ontario town and vibrant Liberal Arts University. Certainly the fit was not always easy, but the dynamic tension allowed for creative sparks to fly inside AND outside the classroom.
Perhaps the passionate responses of those of us who have experienced both a Trent education AND a big-city 'rich-campus' education - and who are determined that this country continues to need the kind of education that Trent provides, will convince you that there really is an important issue at stake here.
Thank-you for your time and your attention to these vital concerns.
Sincerely,
Deborah van Wyck, '72.
dvanwyck@accglobal.net