Don’t make COD something it’s not

Don’t make COD something it’s not

We could continue this quixotic quest to make College of DuPage something it’s not or look at the plain facts: this is a community college. President Breuder’s on a $290,000 mission to make our well-known local campus into a hybrid — something more than a community college, something less than Northwestern University.

He yearns to run a quasi-university ... to have his school spoken of in the same breath as a university. Stop now. You have a wonderful school. You attract great students ... many who have the smarts to save money attending their first two years and then transfer and get their diploma from the universities you wish to emulate. Unfair? Yep. But these kids are not stupid.

They are not going to want to form alumni groups. They are commuters. They come and go. They will not want to donate out of loyalty (read the above paragraph again). They have enough debt. You have your donors: we taxpayers.

Breuder knows, as do we citizens, that schools compete for student dollars. Schools need to stand out. This should not be an issue — C.O.D. is already a community college on steroids. Very different. Very big. It might not have a world-class faculty, but really, are students and the community going to pay big bucks for that talent? I don’t think you can have both without defeating the purpose of a community college.

Plainly said, COD. will never be a “university.” There will never be a “unifying spirit” like a university. Until the student body stops commuting and lives in dorms and attends athletic and artistic events with fervor, it’s just not gonna happen. COD is a practical solution for practical students. Stop tilting at windmills and give us all a financial breather.

Will and Lisa Wallace

Glen Ellyn