Board of Trustees value student wishes
By Chelsea Hudson
Skiff Staff

It started with hello.

I walked into the Dee J. Kelly Alumni and Visitors Center all alone into a room full of adults. These adults were not just anyone off the street. They are decision makers and action takers. On one hand I was extremely intimidated. But then again, a part of me felt excited to be in the midst of such an impressive crowd.

The TCU Board of Trustees is a stellar group of individuals. It was quite an experience to meet them face to face. What a discovery it was!

I think students feel separated from the Board of Trustees, but that is only natural because our generations and life experiences have mostly created this gap. Yet, we share a common thread.

Sometimes I get the feeling that students think the administration and the Board of Trustees don’t care about us, the students. We scream about parking and food and think no one is listening.

But, ears are wide open to our voices.

When I said “hello” to the first TCU trustee I met, he asked me, “Chelsea, what do you, as a voice for the students, think about parking?”

My jaw dropped.

Before I went to this dinner I assumed it would be just an evening with polite conversation. I was greatly mistaken. After I shared the concerns I hear from students, this same trustee looked me straight in the eyes and said, “We really got a problem (about parking), but we are determined to get to the bottom of it.”

Before I could take another bite of dinner, another trustee posed a new question.
“Chelsea, if you could have anything at TCU what would it be?”

I could hear the “Jeopardy” music playing in my head. The first massive thing I could think of was a new Student Center.

Immediately after I made that remark another trustee at the table said, “Young lady, you got a point there, why that Student Center is the same one I had when I went to TCU.”
A thought hit me.

The Board of Trustees are just like you and me, they want TCU to be better than it has ever been. This should be obvious, but at times I think we, as students, don’t realize how much we share in common with them.

We may not get to visit with our Board of Trustees very often, but you can be assured of two things. They have a great love of and place much value in young people. And even though we don’t always see them, they are listening to us.

Chelsea Hudson is a junior political science major from Plano. Chelsea’s column can be seen every Tuesday and she can be contacted at (c.n.hudson@student.tcu.edu).

credits

TCU Daily Skiff © 2002