Word: opts
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...think that all this concern is overblown and that an expansion of opt-options, as silly as they may seem, would be a good thing for this campus. Consider for a moment the tremendous triumph of democratic deliberation that is subsumed in the opt-out option: A majority rules, and the rights of the minority to disagree with that rule are actually respected. That’s a compromise that would have pleased Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. It combines a free-market mechanism any conservative can embrace with an inherent toleration any liberal can love...
Most of the concerns with opt-options seem at best superficial. After a little work, conscientious objectors were indeed allowed to opt-out of the termbill hike, and the Student Receivables Office (which administers the termbill) has committed to making the opt-out process easier. The wind power initiative, say what you will of its merits, was deemed by a majority of the council to be worth the small added inconvenience of an additional checkbox on the termbill. I trust that the council will be sensible enough to keep rare the opt-options on the termbill, and if it isn?...
That’s not to say that a world of opting out is without dangers. I see two great risks in opting. One is that with a proliferation of opt-options, we could build a campus culture of opting-out whenever some initiative or program does not directly serve our immediate interests. A “what’s in it for me” attitude would be disastrous for a student body that rightly prides itself on working together for common goals despite significant diversities on every level. The other more serious hazard is that we might...
...think that with vigilance we can prevent either from occurring. If done right, the opt-option university can be one where we take pride in advancing our own conceptions of justice or our own interests while building a deep respect for those who may disagree with our priorities. The answer to “what’s in it for me?” would thus be a campus that truly values, in word and deed, the differences among us. And although the line between the acceptable and unacceptable opt-out would be admittedly blurry, a campus which continued...
...will continue to opt-in for opting out. I encourage students to continue to push for change while respecting their peers’ rights to opt-out, except in those situations where basic rights are at stake. And when the Faculty meet to decide on whether to approve the opt-out wind power initiative, I encourage them to reject superficial slippery-slope arguments about the demise of the termbill as we know it and embrace opt-options for what they are: creative and democratic means for implementing positive change...