Stop giving PLP students extra privileges.
I think we should stop allowing PLP students to have so many extra privileges. They pay less, because they take most of the scholarshps, while they have priority everything. They have taken multiple classes and better housing from me. Simply taking a few extra classes does not entitle you to be treated better than us. Also, many PLP kids I have talked to say that the Leadership minor is a joke.
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Anonymous
commented
I see two reasons why PLP receives these benefits: as a incentive/reward to stay in the program and to meet the needs of staying in the program.
1) PLP students will say that they receive these benefits as a incentive. I would ask if these incentives are too excessive to keep someone in the program. I don't think any students are arguing to take away PLP's scholarship and I do believe that is a fair incentive, but I wonder if priority housing/classes may be too excessive. I only say this because I see little cost to joining the PLP program. You are gaining a good skill for having a leadership minor and you gain new perspectives on life from the speakers and your volunteer service hours. I understand that not all students will find as much value in this so I believe the scholarship makes up for the cost incurred. If you believe that PLP incentives are excessive, than you must realize that giving these advantages to certain students and not other is unjust and creates unnecessary conflict between PLP and non PLP students.
2) Some PLP students argue that they need these priorities to make sure they can complete the obligations of the program. PLP students argue for housing that they need to live on campus all four years while non PLP students don't have to. This excludes the fact there is a three year residency requirement for all students anyway. I feel it would be more equitable to shift the housing priority to PLP seniors. The argument I've heard for class priority is they need to get the leadership classes they need. I feel this is a weak argument because there are very few leadership minors that are not in PLP so the amount of people they are competing with are so small it doesn't make sense to give them class priority for it.3) If anything can be taken from this what I would really like to see is housing mix PLP and non PLP students freshman year. When I was a freshman, I lived in Santoro but I spent a lot of time in York East. While I felt both buildings had their own culture I never felt one was better than the other. But my own observation gave me the impression that SOME (not all) PLP students feel they are smarter or more well behaved than on PLP students. I would be hanging out with a group of PLP students at times and sometimes I would get comments such as "I am surprised you are not a PLP student". I knew what they mean by that so most of the time I would just smile. But if I felt bold enough I would ask them "why do you say that". "Then another would say "well, you seem much better behaved and you are a pretty smart guy". I would then say, "so are you saying that non PLP students aren't behaved or smart?" This made the room really quiet and awkward. I would break the ice by saying, "Just remember there are well behaved and smart non PLP students too". I don't believe all PLP students are like this, but I have run into this situation many times. I think this mentality could be solved by mixing PLP and non PLP residents freshman year.
If there were to be any changes to the PLP program I don't believe they should affect current PLP students, rather the next class and beyond.
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Tori
commented
I see this is a disheartening and counter productive post. While you're opinions and feelings are perfectly acceptable and even logical, it is only an example of closed minded bias and disdain. Not to mention a selfish look, taking classes from "you". PLP students, Honors students, upperclassmen, Greek Life, and athletes all receive significant benefits that come with experience and a tradeoff. The PLP scholarships are only applied to housing, nothing else, and if PLP students wish to move off campus they forfeit their scholarship. Nobody is taking away anything from you. Regardless of how one views the leadership classes any argument can be made that any class, major, or minor is a joke, but nobody is arguing that biology, chemistry, dance, political science, or theater (just examples) or anything else be removed or downgraded because of your feelings. I believe your argument is moot, although you are entitled to your own opinions and feelings.
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Anonymous
commented
Though I do not like the way that the Leadership program is handled (coming from someone who applied and was rejected), I do not think we should take their benefits from them. The segregation of the student body is strange, and I would wish to have a serious talk with Trible about the way it is run, but they do earn their benefits.
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Natalie
commented
Sorry but the leadership minor is not a joke at all. The people you are talking to are most likely the ones who dropped after first semester while taking the easiest LDSP class (which was sort of a joke).
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Anonymous
commented
How. About. NO. You had the opportunity to be a part of this program. For some reason, you chose not to do the extra work that we do (class, volunteering, being invested in clubs, leadership positions in those clubs -- as all of these are expected of PLP students) so don't whine when you don't get extra perks either.
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Anonymous
commented
Well, the thing is, everyone has the chance to apply for the PLP and Honors programs, and anyone can go online and find out the benefits of being in the program. Everyone had that opportunity. A number of students took that opportunity, applied, and became a part of the program. As for the classes, yes being in PLP helps get you some classes, but it's not like you're not going to graduate on time because a couple classes you wanted supposedly got taken by PLP students. Upperclassmen take classes I want. Should we take away their privileges? Of course not. And you know how you can have a better chance of getting the classes you want when you want them? Have more credits than the majority of your class. It helps a lot. That, and overrides if you need them.
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Joseph Peyton
commented
I think reduces privileges, priority housing is not a big deal but getting to choose classes before everyone else? We have to take them too and it's seriously annoying when you go to register right when it opens and they're all filled up.
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Anonymous
commented
Are you suggesting that the PLP/Honors (because they do receive similar privileges) students should recieve no benefit at all? Or just reduced privileges? If you are suggesting a reduction, what would you give them instead?
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Anonymous
commented
Good for you
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Marisa Hixson
commented
To the below comment I AM a social work major as well and leadership minor PLUS MAT which is 120 hours of observation..so I laugh at YOU!
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Anonymous
commented
20 hours a year? I laugh at you. Try being in Social Work. Try 20+ a Semester.
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Marisa Hixson
commented
First off, if all you think PLP Students do is take classes then you are dead wrong We have to do man other requirements to receive those types of privileges. We have to take a leadership class, attend speakers three times each semester, volunteer for a minimum of 20 hours each year, and attend four passport destinations ( which are like workshops) each year. The privileges of housing, it not a guarantee, we have to fill out the contract earlier in order to receive priority housing. Even if we do fill it out early, the housing is still random and it's really only a possibility that we get a better lottery time.
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Anonymous
commented
You know, I hear students around campus make comments against PLP students and it's really a downer. Everyone on campus is usually so nice and then I hear someone in a group mention how they're doing some volunteer work and someone else would ask why and they would say it was for PLP. Then I'd hear "Ohhh you're one of those PLP kids..." It sounds so condescending. Sometimes I feel like some people hate them without really knowing anything about them individually. This is really disheartening because I know quite a few really great people in the program and I know they do a lot for the community. I also wonder if it's just PLP you have a problem with or if honors is ok?
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Anonymous
commented
I'm guessing you are in PLP?
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Anonymous
commented
Every student has the ability to apply for the PLP Program. And besides a few cases, you're still pretty much guaranteed to get the classes you need. Maybe not the "best" teacher according to some other people's opinions, but you'll still get the class you need. It doesn't matter if the PLP Minor is a joke or not - the students still have to complete 21 hours (7 classes) with it to get the minor. There is a fair amount of work outside of school that comes with it too. No need to be sour because you did not apply.
Make some friends with kids in PLP/Honors for priority housing. Enough said.
