Jeffrey Gold, president of the Nebraska University system, sent students a warm holiday message at the end of the fall semester.
“All aboard the NU express!”
Paying ode to the film “The Polar Express”, the message was lighthearted and cheerful.
The messages we’ve received from the NU president since have been nowhere near as light.
Since the start of the semester, President Gold has been a frequent visitor in our inboxes – a sign in itself that there must be something serious going on. In the past, we would only hear from the NU president a few times a semester. Now, an email labeled “A message from President Gold on…” comes in almost every week, sometimes more than once.
The unusual frequency has us concerned, and we want more clarity from President Gold’s messages.
His messages are typically extensive, including jargon and several links to more information. It feels overwhelming and hard to fully understand on the first or second read.
A few of these messages have been regarding the Governor’s budget proposal, federal funding and the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights’ “Dear Colleague” letter. These situations pose a lot of questions and it is hard to decipher if we have received any real answers.
Politicians will sometimes use a tactic where they give exhaustively long responses to questions without actually answering them. While we don’t believe the president is withholding information from us, as he is doing the exact opposite, his delivery comes across as difficult for us to find the answer he is giving us.
While the messages are long, our team is grateful that there is at least a clear line of communication. Any amount of communication is better than none.
A few extra steps will make the messaging clearer for students.
Just like in news writing, we suggest simplifying the vocabulary and making future messages more concise. Using a lot of technical language isn’t fitting for its audience. The majority of us students are only aware of the basics of what is happening in our local and national government since so much is happening.
This could look as simple as shortening these messages to an introductory paragraph, key points and one link to a more in-depth explanation.
UNK’s leaders should follow President Gold’s suit and also send students updates. This could be an opportunity to tell students what these situations mean for UNK specifically. We commend the student government leaders who have hosted listening sessions to provide a space for communication.
There is a lot happening in the state and national legislature. We encourage our fellow Lopers to stay informed and look for more ways to share their voices.
