YSU president gets a bad rap

YSU president gets a bad rap

As a former student and re- cent alumnus of the great Youngstown State University, I write in support of our president, Dr. Cynthia Anderson. I do not pretend to completely understand or form an opinion regarding the recent and on-going labor disputes and union negotiations. I am responding to unfair and unjust claims made about the university’s first female president, Dr. Anderson. My issue arises from personal attacks toward Dr. Anderson outside of the negotiating table.

Many students, faculty, staff and others pass through YSU without the privilege of knowing Dr. Anderson as well as I do. Many do not see what she does for students and they do not understand what she does for them.

At YSU, I was a very active member of our Greek system and was a student worker when Dr. Anderson served as its vice president for student affairs. I was able to develop a working relationship with Dr. Anderson, witnessing countless times that she assisted nearly 165 student organizations in one manner or another.

In addition to her administrative duties, Dr. Anderson was also instructing my Thursday night ‘Marketing Concepts’ class, which lasted until 9 p.m. Never once did I see her shy away from helping a student in need, because she cares passionately about people, especially students. She cares about fair treatment to people, so for those who personally criticize her in childish ways, please be rational.

When elected, Dr. Anderson stated that her plan started with the students and she has already held up that end of the bargain. It is refreshing to see the students support her not only as an administrator, but more importantly as a person who cares.

In her 15 months as president she has had some extraordinary circumstances fall on her shoulders. The despicable tragedies of last February were an utter shock to the entire city and the campus, and Dr. Anderson is still handling that situation with great leadership and compassion.

She also stared down an impending labor negotiation that would have occurred regardless of who was picked to be the seventh president of YSU.

I am a proud Penguin and I know many in the Mahoning Valley are proud graduates as well. Being a young businessman I understand issues that can arise from negotiations. But at the end of the day, follow the Golden Rule that Dr. Anderson lives by on a daily basis — “Treat others as you would like to be treated.”

Mason Shattuck, Youngstown