Communication is a word often used on sports fields, in meetings, in the classroom, and simply in day-to-day conversation. As humans, communication is central to how we interact with one another, and in today’s age of technology, one would think that communication would be easier and more important than ever. And to that point, it is.
However, KO has remained behind in its communication abilities, specifically to its students. Ask any parent, and they will say KO has had strong communication throughout the pandemic. But ask a student about COVID-19 cases or major on-campus changes, and, more often than not, you’ll be met with a puzzled face and a “What?” Many of the school’s communications are sent only to parents and faculty, not to students, despite the fact that parents are often far removed from campus, observing the activities of the school from the outside, while students are present on campus every day and are directly impacted by the happenings in the KO community. Despite this, students are rarely included in any announcements sent out to parents and faculty, even though it often impacts them the most.
Recently, there were reported COVID-19 cases within the student body. This information was reported to parents and faculty, alerting them to the positive tests, but there was no communication to students. In fact, when the topic of these cases was brought up in conversation among several students, including myself, nearly every single student was shocked to hear the news of the positive COVID-19 test results, and many were indignant that they had not been communicated this information directly.
Lack of communication of such information not only leaves students in the dark on matters that directly affect them, but it also opens the door to potentially dangerous and widespread misinformation. If students receive their information directly from the school, there is a clear and reliable source that leaves no room for speculation. But with the current system KO has in place, critical information spreads through word of mouth in what is essentially a school-wide game of telephone. For anyone who has played telephone, you surely know how easily messages can and do get misconstrued and altered, which is definitely something that the administration would not want to have with important information.
In a school that prides itself on its students “tak[ing] personal responsibility,” having students rely on their parents for information that directly impacts them is in direct contradiction with the school’s core values.
This is not a new problem, however. As a student here, it was not until 2019 that students began to receive the Wyvern Weekly along with parents, something that students before me, such as former Editor-in-Chief Ben Small ’19 in his January 2019 Wyvern’s Tale, fought hard for. And why not? Why wouldn’t students have received such a document? There is no harm in providing it to students, as it does not add an extra burden on those sending out the Wyvern Weekly. While students now receive this document, similar scenarios continue to persist.
In his editorial advocating for the Wyvern Weekly, Ben made a compelling argument. “When discussing important, campus-wide issues—students should be informed to the same extent as parents,” he wrote. This point still rings true to this day. At a school that prides itself on student responsibility and independence, why has it still left its students to rely on parents and word of mouth for critical information? The school should include students in all communications to parents – a simple fix that will allow students to take responsibility and uphold the school’s core values.
