Darren Glaude, Seminole County Watch columnist

Just so we know where we stand from the start, please be aware that when all is said and done, my belief is that an on-campus stadium would greatly benefit the University of Central Florida and its football program.

If the decision was mine to make, an on-campus stadium would be built at UCF.

Having said that, some other things also must be said.  First among them is the unease that lingers in the back of my mind over the way this situation has been handled by the UCF administrators.  Along with that is concern over their response to being questioned and held accountable by the community.

In the end, it seems the main issue over UCF's plans to build an on-campus stadium boils down to trust.  Trust is a funny thing:  it takes a long time to build but can be destroyed in literally a matter of seconds.

Over the years, UCF has acted in a manner that has destroyed the sense of trust that local homeowners feel they can afford the university and its administration.

The latest attempts by UCF officials to silence and eliminate those who ask questions is disturbing, and violates not only the sense of trust with those directly involved, but a greater sense of public trust that the community should seek to build with the community at large.

The biggest acknowledgement that should be made in any relationship is that all sides have legitimate interests and concerns, and that dialogue should be allowed to satisfy them.

UCF has become tired of engaging in dialogue with their neighbors, who are affected by the growth of the university.  Rather than answering questions and providing satisfactory answers, UCF is now seeking to silence their neighbors, and to keep them from asking legitimate questions.

Proposed legislation, written by UCF officials and sponsored in the Florida legislature by Rep. Dean Cannon and Sen. Lee Constantine, seeks to silence questioning of the university's growth plans by its affected neighbors.

That is hardly the way to build understanding and trust.  University officials added to the erosion of understanding and trust by severely mishandling the proposal of the on-campus football stadium, suddenly unveiling it and placing it on the "fast track" towards approval with no prior notice.

Having realized that, university officials are now pulling back and slowing things down a little, but it is obviously being done in response to public-relations needs rather than having had any second thoughts.

In their dedense, an on-campus stadium seems a definite need and desire.  It is a natural and smart thing to do in building student and community ties to a football program still struggling to find its way after several decades.

Most bothersome about the stadium is not necessarily what university officials want to do, but how they have gone about doing it. 

Their attempts to enact legislation preventing public scrutiny of their plans and actions is an aggressive defensive measure that should be highly offensive to anyone who believes in open and honest government.

UCF's residential neighbors have asked some legitimate questions about the stadium being built on campus.  Their questions deserve answers, which may be equally as legitimate.  By simply seeking answers to questions, the neighbors are not necessarily establishing that the stadium should not be built.  But they are establishing that a need exists for communication and dialogue.

The university continues to portray residents in surrounding neighborhoods as poor neighbors if they do not support the university's plans.

Neighborship, however, is a two-way street, and many surrounding residents are merely acting now in response to the way UCF has behaved towards them for many years.

Rather than stifling discussion and debate with residents in surrounding neighborhoods, and now seeking legislation to do so, it would seem more productive for UCF officials to act in a manner that would breed openness and trust rather than secrecy and suspicion.

Judging from their history, up to and including their handling of the on-campus stadium, it seems obvious UCF officials have a different view.

Email Darren at darrenglaude@seminolecountywatch.com