Student-centeredness tossed aside

There are many aspects to creating a responsible and truly student-centered university. 

However, the elimination of Alexis Blavos’ position in Student Affairs is not among those aspects. Blavos is the alcohol, tobacco and other drug prevention specialist, and her job is to encourage students to make the right decisions. While many could view trying to get college students to be substance free as a lost cause, many University of Toledo students attest to Blavos’ results. They have come to her side, calling for her position to be saved, and we couldn’t agree more.

If UT is claiming to be a “student-centered” university, making cuts in student affairs seems like a contradiction. This was one of a few positions eliminated this academic year in the Office of Student Affairs, meaning this is not an isolated incident — it’s a pattern. The administration is saying it’s OK to sacrifice what is best for the student body when it comes time to trim the financial fat.

Blavos’ layoff doesn’t mean her office will disappear, but it does mean the parts that affect students the most will suffer. One of her most important roles is her oversight of UT’s medical amnesty policy.  If you or a friend calls for medical help due to a drug or alcohol-related incident, you won’t be arrested. Instead, you will have to go through an administrative process involving meeting with UT officials to make sure you are OK. Not only do fewer students have to go through a judicial process, but they don’t have to be afraid to call for help because they think they’re going to get in trouble. 

Officials said parts of the program may now be overseen by other areas of Student Affairs, including the counseling center, but don’t they do enough already? This policy has literally saved people’s lives. It would be a shame to see it suffer due to the people who oversee it being overworked.

Dean of Students Michele Martinez says UT is planning to continue to educate students about drugs and alcohol in spite of the change. However, Student Affairs’ proposal to create a peer education model to supplement the lack of an administrator falls flat. Peer mentoring is a teaching tool that’s still in the developing stages, and in the wrong context, it can do more harm than good. In a 2009 peer mentoring study, researchers Flora Cornish and Catherine Campbell wrote that the results of peer mentoring are “inconsistent, with little consensus on why some projects succeed while others fail.” It is simply impossible to tell if a new program will be as effective as Blavos.

By eliminating Blavos’ position, the university runs the risk of reversing the good she has done for students. Blavos won’t be leaving until April, so there is still time to reverse this decision. Yes, UT is under a budget crunch, but the administration needs to go back to the drawing board and find somewhere else to cut. We know it’s easy to criticize cuts without proposing alternatives, but in this case, just about any cut would be better.

If President Lloyd Jacobs is as “deeply committed” to addressing substance abuse as he said he was in a town hall meeting last week, he should put his money where his mouth is.