Linda Lusby to Kyle Steele
Dear Kyle –
I have recently been made aware of the ASU’s decision to contract with Tim Horton’s for food services in the SUB. I feel compelled to register my disappointment and sense of despair that such a decision could be made at this point in Acadia’s history. I will leave aside the matter of participatory decision making as that is essentially a student issue and I will not interfere in that.
However as a member of the Acadia community and a resident of Wolfville for over 25 years, I do feel I have a right and a responsibility to comment on the substance of this decision. Over the years I have both observed and participated in Acadia’s progression towards sustainability and a general consciousness of the environment. We have programs of study in Environmental Science and Sustainability Studies; the ASU has an Environmental Society and a Sustainability Office; we have the Academy of the Environment and an Environmental Sciences Centre; and the environment and sustainability both featured prominently in Acadia’s most recent Strategic Plan. We also live in a town that has taken the giant leap of being the first Fair Trade Town in Canada and in a province that is a world recognized leader in recycling and waste diversion. Finally, the ASU leases space to the Wolfville Farmers’ Market which is running a very successful “Buy Local Challenge” and promotes sustainability and environmental stewardship.
While many in this discussion have focused on the corporate policies of Tim Horton’s, I would like to draw your attention to the concept of “community” and the notion of “shared goals.” In an earlier communication you noted that the ASU is incorporated as a student organization, hence staff and community members are not stakeholders and (implicitly) their opinions are of no value in this discussion. A very unique position for a “business owner.” I know of a number of businesses and organizations in the community and at Acadia that go out of their way to include the views of students in their business plans. Perhaps faculty and staff should not be eating at the SUB, attending events at the SUB, dropping off dry-cleaning, buying a newspaper or a tee-shirt, or any of the other things we do over the course of a week.
My greatest disappointment in this current discussion is the realization that you, as ASU President, do not consider the ASU as a part of a larger community. Falling back on Provincial letters of incorporation to support a stand for independence strips away the sense of the ASU as a part of Acadia and Acadia as a part of the local Community. Surely we must work together to achieve common goals. I do consider the students and the SUB as part of my Acadia community and am saddened to see this very isolated position.
On a final note, as an educator I am very concerned that the survey methodology used by the ASU in making the food services decisions did not include more of a “full cost accounting” of various choices, and in fact it appears that no real options were suggested. A survey that bases results on open ended questions and does not include a full spectrum of decision criteria can hardly be considered good research methods. Again, as an Acadia Faculty Member, it saddens me to learn that you are nearing the end of your time at Acadia and we have failed to instil in you a sense of community, the concept of sustainability and good research methods. It is in practice and application that we look to see the results of our teaching and unfortunately we have failed here.
Should you at some point wish to look at a more robust decision-making model for food services, I would be more than happy to assist.
Sincerely
Linda Lusby
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