Poll

Status update on the Poll:

We wrote the poll questions 2 and 1/2 weeks ago. We've always intended to get a broad sample of campus students and faculty. We followed avenues to send out a campus wide email. We knew it was a long shot, but we wanted to try. This is how that went:
1. We sent an email to the Email help desk asking about the possibility.
2. A few days go by with no response. We call the help desk and get a response: they would be happy to help us send out a global email if we get permission form the provost.
3. We call the operator and ask for the Provost (i figured a call would be more direct and save time since the time hang up with the help desk). The office of the president picks up; she gives me specific instructions to email Carol Peplow in the Provost's office. Tough luck on talking in person; I email her.
4. A week goes by. I gave her too much time, but I figured she was busy being the Provost's office and all.
5. I call her at the beginning of this week - Monday - asking about the status of my note. She didn't recall the note and asked me to resend the email (which i did while on the phone with her). She explained it would be hard to get permission for that type of email but that she would ask the Provost anyway. I explained the value of the subject to the University and she agreed with seeming sincerity. I asked her - since I had her on the phone - what plan B would be (the help desk explained getting approval from each department separately would be a possibility, but obviously time consuming).  She said that she would be happy to help me with that if plan A falls thru and she told me she would get back to me by the end of the day. And so I left it with her like that. The email that I sent her while on the phone had a sentence at the beginning reading "please confirm receipt..."
6. No confirmation and no call back. And now Tuesday's over. We're frustrated with the University and its abuse of its self-proclaimed power. (I'm paying you - and you, Provost, are paid to represent me!!!)
7. Alas, we're moving on. For the sake of time we will send our poll out to AIAS students. It is a list of 200 students and although they are all design students (bad) they range in all years of study (good). It will be a decently sized, slightly skewed sample of students. But its a start. It goes out tonight.
8. We'll keep going down the path with Provost.