IT'S NOT IHOP, but it will be open 24 hours. Soon, thanks to the efforts of Student Council President Joe Bilby and other representatives, students will be able to go to Clemons Library whenever they might go grocery shopping at the 24-hour Harris Teeter. An around-the-clock Clemmons took almost two years and considerable amounts of funding - almost $70,000 dollars a year -but the persistence and patience of Student Council won in the end. So score one for Student Council.
But, while the news of Clemons's additional hours came out two weeks ago, it has not received extensive coverage on the Opinion page of The Cavalier Daily, and this is troubling.
The shortcomings or failures of any organization are almost always more obvious and noticeable than its successes or accomplishments. One might attribute this tendency of perception to any number of reasons, but this much is clear: It usually is much easier to attack than it is to praise someone for what they have or haven't done.
Perhaps Council suffers more from this than other groups. Many of us, no doubt, remember the council at our previous schools as a group of shameless resume builders who enjoyed holding an office but not doing anything particularly noteworthy with it.
So when it comes to Council, most of us adopt a "what-have-you-done-for-me-lately" attitude, which is not entirely unjustified. Council exists to serve student needs and concerns and should be held to a high level of accountability. But in making any judgment, it is important to maintain a balanced and accurate view of what is being judged. In evaluating Council this year, this has not been the case. Nowhere is the more apparent than on the pages of this newspaper.
Anyone who has picked up a copy of The Caviler Daily this semester and happened to glance at the Opinion page likely has seen some piece pertaining to Council. The vast majority of these pieces have been critical of its actions, as well as of representatives themselves. Some of this criticism was well deserved; incidents like those surrounding College Rep. Justin Pfeiffer's racist resolution need to be addressed by the community.
It is appropriate for journalists to hold people in positions of power accountable for their behavior. This has always been a function of the press, which the founding fathers of the nation regarded as so vital that it receives a specific mention in the Bill of Rights. But - in what is not a new theme for a University familiar with the notion of "self-governance" - with rights come responsibilities. Among these responsibilities is highlighting not only the mistakes of those in power, but also the successes.
Take for example one of the columns that appeared on this page earlier this week ("Committee falls short as legislative liaison," Oct. 16), in which Council's Legislative Affairs Committee was assailed for failing to represent students. The piece was largely based upon the Committee's failure to lobby the General Assembly, but the Assembly has not been in session, so it couldn't be lobbied.
Meanwhile, Council's accomplishments were reduced to a brief paragraph, which ironically included achievements of the Legislative Affairs Committee. Looking at the actions of Council listed there - initiatives ranging from housing to voter registration to the development of a new late night refuge for students - all would have provided a more insightful perspective on Council's success and failings.
But the real issue is not that a Committee was criticized unfairly in a particular editorial piece. More bothersome is the fact that, as a community, we instinctively are more comfortable being unhappy than adequately evaluating a group or situation, which is not only unfair, but also unhealthy.
(John Bailey is a Cavalier Daily viewpoint writer.)
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