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February 16, 2007

Switched Out

Schedule conflicts prevented the swap from being in the 2007 Homecoming schedule

Story by: Ray Edward Buffington IV

Contributor to The Shorthorn

The Shorthorn: File Art

Liberal Arts Dean Beth Wright sits among students in a history class during last year’s UTA Switch. The event will not be held this year due to scheduling conflicts.

The UTA Switch, a Homecoming event giving students and deans the opportunity to swap jobs for a day, will not be included in the Homecoming Week activities this year, said Seth Ressl, Greek Life and university events associate director.

Instead, students meet with their deans for breakfast.

Ressl explained that the main reason for cutting the event was an inability to synchronize the schedules of the deans and the students.

“We’ve always had challenges,” he said. “Trying to get a group of students and a group of deans to have one flexible day is not an easy task.”

The Deans Breakfast, where students may speak with and get to know their respective deans, will begin at 7 a.m. Monday in the University Center Red River Room. To attend the breakfast, students must submit an entry form to the Student Governance and Organizations office.

Carter Bedford, Student Governance and Organizations associate director, said timing was a difficult hurdle for maintaining the event, the commitment factor sometimes chasing away potential participants.

“It is a good event,” he said. “But the problem with the switch is the parameters. The deans have to give up half of their day, then the students might have two morning classes that could have important information they would miss, and then you eliminate the students in the process of signing because of the inability to dedicate the time needed.”

The activity had students swapping occupations with their college dean for half a day, in which the dean would attend the student’s morning classes and the student would take charge in the dean’s office, all after a breakfast for the participants.

Even with the absence of the activity, Bedford believes the breakfast meeting will still be a hit.

“It’s easier to get an hour out of a person than half a day,” he said. “At the breakfast, the dean and student can still interact with the spirit of Homecoming.”

Honors College Dean Robert McMahon participated in the event the last three years and understands the time commitment problem.

“The schedule is difficult both for the students, who have to give up the classes, especially if they have exams, and the deans, who have to give up a lot of time to go to those classes,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed the big switch, and I am going to participate in the breakfast this time around. Perhaps there will be more time to talk to the students on what we do in the Honors College.”