Temple University President David Adamany addressed a Temple Student Government meeting yesterday, affirming that he is “interested in seeing that all students succeed.”
Adamany stood before TSG for over an hour and a half, outlining his plan for a better university and fielding questions ranging from student representation to recent reports of grade inflation.
“74 percent of grades given here last year were As or Bs. We love you, but you’re not 74 percent As and Bs,” Adamany said.
With diversity and multicultural affairs being two of the most prominent issues discussed in the assembly, representatives had no trouble bringing what they felt were injustices against minorities and inner-city students to Adamany’s attention.
Questions of race and diversity often prompted applause from the entire assembly, and calls for order from TSG speaker Marissa Procope.
“Russell Conwell said that we have diamonds in our backyards,” Cecile Carroll said. “We’ve gotta work to pick out these diamonds and make sure we get all of them.”
Adamany made it clear that the admissions office has fought harder this year to find and bring to Temple as many qualified students from Philadelphia as possible. He defended the practices of the office of admissions by saying that the university’s “first priority is education.” Additionally, Adamany was blunt with the assembly on why the number of minorities on campus has not increased.
“The five Philly magnet schools are great. Their average SAT score is…very competitive. However, we find it very difficult to recruit students from Philadelphia neighborhood schools….The average SAT score is 850,” he said.
Adamany and the assembly spoke at length about their concerns and plans for Temple in the coming years.
“Our business is learning,” Adamany said. “Our goal is to provide an education at a reasonable cost to whoever wants it.”
Many of the questions representatives asked were on the topic of student input in university decisions. TSG President Naeem Thompson asked but one question, and it addressed the administration’s ignorance of student voices. Thompson asked why “some decisions were made without the input of students.”
Adamany respectfully informed the assembly that he would be glad to accept any student input that is given, but has “no sure way of getting students’ opinions.”
Chris Reber can be reached at tua04453@temple.edu.
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