Chris Grask | Perspective Contributor 

  …an acceptable choice.

A new president is one of the most newsworthy events to happen on campus. Freeman has been the temporary president since Doug Baker resigned. Dr. Freeman being appointed as the first ever female acting NIU president is a great sign of change. Yet the options that were available for other candidates really were not present. This kind of feels like the Board of Trustees appointed president rather than one the community has rallied behind. If her time as president is anything like Doug Baker then we will be in for a disaster. She has shown that she is willing to be diverse-friendly and accepting of all students. Good signs are a plenty when it comes to Dr. Freeman. Her biggest challenge will be reversing the declining enrollment numbers plaguing NIU. The usage of surveys and open forums for the presidential search seemed like a facade to show they were looking for community input, but the choice for president was clear once she took up the temporary position.

Josie Janicki | Perspective Contributor 

…hopeful but mindful

As a new student, I haven’t had much time to experience the effects of the transition of our new president. However, knowing that Dr. Freeman has strong experience and background puts me at ease; I believe that our leaders should be academic role models. The fact that she is the first female appointed acting president also shows to me that NIU is susceptible to change. Although I am hopeful that Freeman will be a good president and lead us to move forward, we have to acknowledge the fact that the Board of Trustees bypassed the presidential search. Their reasoning is sound but this makes me weary of that and other processes we have at the university to help make unbiased and fair decisions. All students should be mindful of the processes that go on in our administration and stay as informed as possible. Keeping an open forum is important. The Board has taken steps to collect student surveys and initiate discussion, but our community should have more of an input when it comes to decisions as big as this one was.

Haley Galvin | Perspective Editor

…good but unfair

Lisa Freeman has been the acting president for the last year and she has been doing a good job, however I think when it comes to selecting a president, other options should have been considered. Allowing Freeman to be the only candidate is unfair to the student body and any other candidate who may have been a great fit for the program. Overriding the search was taking the easy way out of the search process. The Board of Trustees promised a fair search and they went back on that promise.  After the past presidents and the few issues we have had, it only seemed right to have an unbiased full presidential search, as we had been promised by the Board. Since Lisa Freeman was already acting as president they decided to call the search off. Regardless of how great Lisa Freeman is, no one else got the chance to be a candidate so we as students will never know who the perfect fit, since there was only one option.