Before students even struck a match at a candlelight gathering in support of University of Montevallo President Philip Williams Sept. 3, more than 1,000 of them signed their names to a petition in support of Williams.

The students showed up, candles in hand, to rally against any action the university’s board of trustees might take to either fire Williams or cause him to resign from his post.

UM students feel extremely passionate about Williams’ efforts to enhance the school’s reputation as an elite liberal arts college.

Many will also quickly relay to you a personal story of how Williams’ has at some point helped them find additional financial aid or dug in himself to assist with a community service project.

There must be a good reason students feel so strongly about their president. Though most, including us, don’t know all the details of the current discord between Williams and the board, what we do know is that few things evoke such a passionate response from so many people.

We believe it would be a great loss for the University of Montevallo to lose Williams.

We encourage Williams and the board of trustees to make communication key in their meeting Sept. 10 and hopefully find a way to resolve their issues.

We also commend UM students for knowing the importance of making their voices heard. These days many people find it easy to be passive. Students at UM however, discovered the importance of being active.