Weighing the importance of free speech against the preservation of a respectful campus, college administrators offer err on the side of caution and argue that discontent either does not ''meet the civility test'' or should go through the proper channels. 

Here's a ramble for you: sometimes I feel like I can't speak about the subject of how to hold college administrators accountable. Accountability means that people can ‘count on one another’ for college administrators to keep performance commitments and communication agreements.

Ask ten people if they're happy, and they may say a resounding yes. Or, they might not. For those who are unhappy, you find a trend.  

Many people are happy with their college choice. But many people are unhappy. Just look at the College Prowler publication and you will see what students rank as OWU's best and worst:

Best:

1.Professors and academic programs
2.Friendliness among everyone
3.Personal attention
4.Leadership opportunities
5.New science center
6.Off-campus study programs
7.Research opportunities
8.Alumni
9.Safety
 
Worst:
1.Ridiculously high acceptance rate
2.Delaware is not a college town
3.Off-campus living policies
4.No off-campus food points
5.Sometimes excessively strict campus police
6.Low endowment
7.Low sports attendance
8.Nightlife
9.Unpredictable weather
10.Low retention rate

Let's talk a little about the top worst points about OWU. Especially the ones that the administation can do something about: college acceptance rate, off-campus living policies, campus police, endowment and low retention rate. These are issues that have been on the radar screen for years. But it takes a lot of time for the college administration to acknowlege them.

The problem is with Ohio Wesleyan's administration when it comes to student issues; they might work with you on problems, but they're not going to work very hard. I can tell you I've had issues with financial aid, reslife, etc, (actually not with the registrar ever, though) where it would be just an issue of reading a website or reading an email and they still wouldn't do it. They'd skim it, misinterpret it and and spit you out an answer that was unhelpful or basically them giving up on the problem and then smile as they absolve themselves of your issue. There is absolutely no accountability and incompetence is never punished. It's fairly obvious to me in the whatever + years I've been here that they don't take student concerns very seriously. They treat us like ignorant babies and wait for a parent to call in to fix the problem. As an independent person, this approach has infuriated me in ways you would not believe.

The result among students is frustration and apathy - and for the students who don't find their pockets quickly, it's suffocating. 

To this end, several students started two initiatives this term to ease that problem: 

1. www.ourOWU.com

Our OWU is a community designed to allow students of Ohio Wesleyan University to discuss issues, complaints, special occasions, or anything else that pertains to student life at OWU. In addition, Our OWU aims to give students a voice in the administration of the university by providing a web space for students to state their opinions to not only each other, but also to the world, specifically incoming students.

Our OWU is not in any way affiliated with the administration of the university in order to keep the power in the hands of the students. Our OWU is not funded directly in any way by Ohio Wesleyan University and is completely driven by the students and prospective students of the university and will remain as such.


2. Ohio Wesleyan Confession Board

Ohio Wesleyan students started an informal Confession Board this March.

The URL is http://ohiowes.collegeacb.com/index.php?page=home

Judging by its activity, it is pretty popular. Most popular threads are "Is Lisa Ho a liar?", "Crush List"