But, like we told Senate two weeks ago, goals need to be met. And many of these goals seem difficult with our current financial state of affairs. We’re not saying that they’re impossible, but the College Council will have to think creatively to get around our budget deficit.

Regarding the plan to increase St. Olaf’s racial and cultural diversity to match or exceed that of the surrounding area, all possible measures should be taken. We’ve commented on St. Olaf’s lack of racial diversity before, and the fact that the College Council is paying more attention to the issue of our school’s homogeneity issue is great. We are interested, however, in how changes to the school’s demographics will be implemented. Will more money be put into Dean of Community Life and Diversity Eida Berrio’s program? Will she actually have funds for the steps that she needs to take to give diverse kids the opportunities they need? We think that more money will have to be put into such programs, somehow. But how? The College Council has an intimate knowledge of the budget. They must use this knowledge.

A new science center has been on the agenda for years. This also sounds like a good idea, although we’d like to see student body issues resolved first. Is it possible to pay for both? If so, we love the idea. If not, the people are what make the institution and, therefore, people should be our focus. We can get by without a new building for a few more years. Yes, biology, chemistry and physics majors, we know it is out of date. We feel for you, we really do – we want a new science center. But if we pick one thing, it’s going to be bringing new life into the student body, not bringing new labs to a building. There’s that camp song that says, “The Church is not a building where people go to pray … We are the Church.” It’s the same thing here – we are the College, and as much as we embrace the Norwegian-Lutheran heritage and history in which the school is so steeped, we need to branch out. “We” are St. Olaf College and we want “we” to be a conglomeration and a celebration of the different cultures with which our nation is blessed.

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