The trustees are a collection of businesspeople, philanthropists and clergy members who have donated and continue to donate large amounts of money to Whitworth University.Trustees make or approve most of the decisions that affect students on a day-to-day basis.

While they hold  weight in the institutional advancement discussion, they also appear to put little stock in understanding student life. A recent survey done by The Whitworthian found that students largely cannot name a trustee member without seeing their names and even less students feel as though they could recognize a trustee member if they walked past one on the Hello Walk.

It appears that trustees are out of touch with the student body, which  contradicts reason as a planned strategy. When considering that trustees make important decisions that intimately influence students and life on campus, it seems that trustees should have some understanding of what students think. Student’s concerns should at least be a factor in future decisions concerning this institution.

We are not asking for trustees to attend prime times and join us in the student section of basketball games (although we won’t oppose it). Rather, we hope trustees will see the value in hearing student voices firsthand and gaining a perception of Whitworth not solely based on the views of ASWU President Justin Botejue and Whitworth President Beck Taylor.

We recognize the difficulty many trustee members have in being on campus consistently, as a result of their distance from the campus and other important obligations they are apart of.

However, as significant investors in the futures of Whitworth and the students within it, we believe trustees need to make a more intentional effort to invest time as well as money in Whitworth’s future.

We appreciate Whitworth trustees and their continued investment in our community. Trustees are invested in this campus and the best interest of our university. We simply think students are a part of those decisions.