Dine' College is a community. The school is small enough where the professors usually know your name and you can easily be heard. Whereas at other universities there may be a tendency to flounder in a vast sea of students. It makes the transition from Reservation schools to off-reservation schools much easier, while making us appreciate and understand our culture. The campus itself is gorgeous and idyllic - sheep roam and the odd cow or two graze upon the circular lawn. Chuska mountains frame the school and numerous trails and a lake surround the school.
Now the bad aspects: Administration. There is an (embarrassingly) obvious disdain for the students and community emanating from the current President, Dr. George. who also has no desire to communicate with students "It isn't in my contract to mingle with students." - reportedly in response to a simple offer to just address the student body. At a school with an active enrollment of less than a thousand when you insult us, refer to us negatively, talk down to us - we notice. There are also the countless people unqualified for their bloated positions, namely Dean Glennita Haskey whose higher than a BA academic/experience qualifications seem to be mostly comprised of a still-yet-to-be-obtained online masters degree.
The moment the tours end at the school - mostly everything shuts down. From the Library to the gym to the Cafeteria. Administration parades people on tours of the school (which sounds like what the person who reviewed before me experienced) and the student body looks forward to those days (though we are never invited) because it means we will be treated a little bit better and we might get a better lunch served. When you attend school on a reservation and the closest grocery store is 45 minutes away - lunch means a lot.
Since Dr. George's reign, admissions appear to have dramatically decreased. Navajo Technical College(NTC) on the other hand is thriving. Dr. Jill Biden spoke at their last commencement speech and a lot of Dine College students are leaving for NTC in bunches. Along with mistreated Faculty. Just because we are a tribal school does not mean we should be mistreated, NTC is a shining example of how to treat students - you know, like intelligent young people who are learning. Not like a thorn in your side. If you dislike the community so much - leave. It's a very simple solution, saves you from the "indignity" of deigning to deal with us and puts someone who WANTS to better the school in that very important position.
It's a conflict of conscious to give this school such a low score or to speak ill of it in any way, because attending Dine' College is a privilege. As a former student, I cherish my time spent at that school. It is my family, my relatives, my culture. Yet, it's so frustrating when those in charge seem hellbent on running the school into the ground and washing out what makes this school special: the students, the community, the culture.
You can be and do so much better Dine' College. You have a long legacy of overcoming (first tribally-operated college!) and creating behind you. I have my hopes up about the school and feel like these Dr.George years will be like former President Bush's term in the White House - Something awful, yes, but something that sparks growth and empowerment once removed from office. read more
