This is unfortunate. It may be that the student body was the lone dissenter in a list of groups and departments that enthusiastically embraced this idea, but the fact remains that the student voice was heard, but failed to affect the kind of philosophical change that was sought. This is the root of school spirit. It is a common misconception that school spirit is merely a function of victories by our athletes or rankings in magazines or some other measure, but it's not nearly this simple. School spirit is the sense that we as students control our destiny enough to feel a sense of ownership in the institution in which we invest no small amount of money and the best years of our lives.
Students here have an incredible amount of control over their academic lives.
We have the freedom to create independent research projects and unique programs of study, and the Rochester Curriculum is designed in such a way to allow students to pursue their interests in depth while minimizing the time spent in irrelevant required courses. However, outside of the classroom students often times lose control of their lives. Residency and dining plan requirements, a culture of non-communication, and a system of bureaucracy so large and out of control for a school this small are in direct contrast to an academic environment that stresses exploration and the discovery of your own path. If students could feel the same sense of ownership over their destinies outside of the classroom, we would go a long way towards solving our school spirit problems. I feel safe saying that the most contentious issue on campus today is dining.