A lot went through my mind as I sat behind the closed, guarded doors of the Olin-Sang Auditorium today as the faculty met to discuss this University's future.Closed doors. Barred journalists. Student demonstrators. Study abroad, housing policy, scholarship money, missed summer opportunities. More students, less faculty. My entire academic career.

Why I came to Brandeis.

All in the name of ... what, exactly?

It's not every day you get to sit in the midst of a brewing protest. The atmosphere outside the lecture hall this afternoon was passionate and purposeful. At the sight of the crowd of students, spearheaded by writers for campus blog Innermost Parts, an inexplicable, almost electric vibe shook my system. Those students stood for something important, and they were going to make something happen. Supreetha Gubbala '12, a demonstrator who skipped class to participate in the assembly, exemplified the students' passion when she said, "Students know best, and [the administration and faculty] should have asked us first. The fact that they're not letting us in is a violation of our rights."

I can't help but admire those students for heading straight to the scene, adamantly insisting that they have a say in their own academic careers and inviting faculty members to a post-meeting gathering to openly discuss what transpired behind the closed doors of the auditorium. They have genuine motivation to salvage the academic values that brought them to Brandeis.

It certainly does seem that the administration is not on the same page as the students. Budget cuts tend to throw matters out of proportion, but is our administration really prioritizing Brandeis' unique educational qualities -- which students certainly considered when they chose to enroll here -- when it makes major modifications to study abroad policies and propose long-term changes to the curriculum that would completely revamp the nature of this University? Several hours after sitting outside this dramatized faculty meeting, I remain confused as to where our administration truly stands in terms of the value of our education.

Professors' comments after the meeting did not ease my skepticism. For example, Prof. Mark Hulliung (HIST) told the Justice, "A major concern ... is the idea that perhaps we should have something like a business major, because that would be, the thought is, a great marketing tool."

Business major? Marketing tool? Unless I've misunderstood the term liberal arts institution, career-oriented majors are not the focus of academics on this campus. And advertising career-oriented majors in an attempt to sell this University certainly does not speak volumes about the value of the Brandeis education that so many students sought by enrolling here. Prof. Jacob Cohen (AMST) concurred: "What's amazing to me is that all the suggestions for changing the curriculum, not a single one as far as I know came from any desire on the part of students to have changes in the curriculum. Contrary to what happened in the '60s when all the changes came as a result of student initiative, this seems to haven taken place without any student initiative."

In support of holding fast to Brandeis' academic character, Prof. Joseph Lumbard (NEJS) added, "My main concern is that in attempting to address the desire of some to have a more practical application for their university application, that we may sacrifice the heart of a liberal arts education, which is that of knowledge for knowledge itself. That is something that must not be lost by us."

It's no wonder that so many professors claimed this was the most crowded faculty meeting they had ever attended. The administration is taking a risk by putting Brandeis' learning environment on the line, not only for tuition-paying students but also for the faculty who have grown to love teaching and working in their respective departments.

Amid the stirring ruckus that built outside the meeting, Gubbala pointed out a plaque, dated 1961, hanging to the left of the entrance to the auditorium. It reads: "The forum at Brandeis University established through a benefaction of Theodore Shapiro of New York to uphold the basic principles of the University: to speak freely, to question openly, to differ without fear." It is unfortunate that these basic principles, in addition to those symbolic of a liberal arts institution, have been put on reserve in the name of matters other than a thorough and candid liberal arts education for Brandeis students.

We students are here for one purpose, and that is to learn. Forfeiting the nature of our academic environment will only take us backward. Listen to the voices of the faculty and student body. Cut the budget. Make some changes. But none of this should be done at the expense of this University's character, about which students care and deserve a say when the choice must be made whether to maintain it.