THE B LLBOARD Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
FRIDAY, FEB. 13, 2015
WILSON
SPRING 2015 ISSUE 1
The Wilson College Student Newspaper
New Wilson Charter Approved
At a glance...
Campus 2, 3, 4, 5
Rosie’s Departure Student Radio Station
Sports 6 & 7
Super Bowl Horse Show Preview
J-Term 8
Belize
Adoptions Left: Students Patrick Fox ‘16, Kiefer Grimes ‘18, Danniele Fulmer ‘17, Jenna Kauffman ‘17 By Celia Whitcomb
A small number of alumnae have been fighting the decision to go coeducational since the day the decision was made. Over this past summer of 2014, a hearing was held for the alumnae to voice their concerns and speak their opinions. Four alumnae spoke as representatives for the 40 members who registered complaints with the change in the charter. Months after the hearing, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) officially approved the changes to the Wilson College Charter for the campus to be recognized as a coeducational institution over winter break on Jan. 6, 2015. A charter is a document that depicts how an institution will run itself, and as the decision was made to go from an all-female campus with a coeducational Adult Degree Program (ADP) to a completely coeducational campus, our
charter needed to be updated. This long-awaited process began in the fall of 2012 when a commission process was asked to discover ways to help the school’s enrollment issues. The decision to become a coeducational institution was made by the board in January 2013. In March 2013, this decision was then brought to the PDE to change the charter to fit Wilson’s new population. The PDE then published the charter in July 2013 for 30 days to allow members of the public to voice their concerns. 40 alumnae registered complaints with the charter, which automatically called for a hearing. The date of the hearing was set for June 2014. “Everybody’s opinion is valid and important, and I’m glad they got the opportunity to be heard,” said Dean of Students, Mary Beth Williams when asked about the hearing. “It was a way for the
Photo by Shoshana Rudski
alumnae to make their voices heard. It really was truly a hearing, rather than a trial.” The alumnae were able to voice their concerns in a manner that allowed them to be truly heard. Many of the complaints were focused on the fact that Wilson had begun preparing for the move to coeducation before the charter was approved. Due to multiple changes in position at the PDE, the timeline for the charter was drawn out. This discrepancy was the cause of many of the complaints from the alumnae. “No one expected the timeline to be prolonged. So the dispute over when we went coed should not have happened if the anticipated timeline occurred,” said Brian Speer, Vice President for Marketing and Communications. This extended time period has caused feelings of resentment in both ... ”Charter” Continued on page 5...
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