The University’s recent decision to hire a director of communications seems to be a good idea at first glance. However, careful consideration raises questions about the Administration’s long-term agenda.

While no director of communications has yet been named, the new official’s responsibilities will include communicating with the press, improving Wesleyan’s website and propagating a uniform message in the school’s publications.

This new position could certainly benefit the University. Wesleyan’s web site could definitely be improved; compared with the homepages of other peer universities, Wesleyan’s homepage is not as visually striking and does not adequately represent Wesleyan. Improvements could include a link to WesUnity’s prize-winning site.

A concerted effort to direct resources at enhancing the school’s presence on the internet could increase its visibility to prospective students.

Furthermore, if the past year is any indication, Wesleyan certainly needs to direct a substantial amount of energy to dealing with the media.

However, it is frightening that the director of communications will be responsible for presenting a consistent image of the school, considering the Administration’s last image-creation attempt (hint: it was a three letter word beginning with I).

An additional concern is that the director is likely to be new to the University and therefore unfamiliar with Wesleyan.

Furthermore, the director of communications is sure to be a well-paid position. Should the University really be throwing money into improvements that could probably be solved internally with a little hard work?

With student speculation running rampant about continued attempts to "mainstream" the University, it seems reasonable to presume that this director of communications is just another cog in the machine that is slowly taking form to quietly and efficiently package Wesleyan in a non-radical, highly-academic form.