Lack of representation will rid CSB+SJU of the liberal arts

CSB+SJU is appallingly close to losing what makes us a liberal arts institution: our diverse range of departments.

Last week’s issue of The Record shed light on a topic that has not yet been released to the general student body by administration: the potential discontinuation and drastic reduction of various departments at CSB+SJU through the Academic Program Prioritization (APP) process. Our school’s liberal arts tradition allows us the opportunity to immerse ourselves within multiple disciplines to gain perspective and develop into well-rounded, educated members of society. This is why I decided to attend CSB+SJU, and I know it is why many others have too.

The loss of many interdisciplinary departments on campus begs the question: will CSB+SJU be able to call itself a liberal arts institution any longer? In my opinion, we cannot, and we are going to lose what distinguishes us from other universities. As a classics: ancient Mediterranean studies major, I will speak mainly to how this department has positively influenced my college career and prepared me for my future, along with why it deserves to stay as a major and minor option at CSB+SJU.

On a personal level, classics showed me perspective during a time where I desperately craved it and during a time when few other majors could provide it for me. In the classics program, I have learned how to translate various texts from Latin to English, articulate how the study of antiquity influences our modern day, participate in vivid class discussions with peers from all different backgrounds and interests, engage in a growing Classics Club, and create personal relationships with classmates and professors that have challenged me to develop into my best self.

I have never felt more part of a community as I have within the classics department—a community that is welcoming, accepting and passionate about learning. Our institutions have countless direct ties to the classics department, and it would be a mistake to rid students the opportunity to learn about our values and connections.

For starters, our Benedictine tradition stems from the Rule of Benedict, which was originally written in Latin and draws on concepts present throughout antiquity. The study of classics allows us to dig deeper into the values that we cherish, gives us the opportunity to read the text in its original language (which I have done in my upper level Latin courses) and allows us to reflect upon these values in a modern context. It seems only fair to give our future students the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in all that our community stems from and offers.

Similarly, our direct and long-standing involvement with The Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML) is another tremendous connection that our institutions have to the classical world. With HMML’s collections containing extensive works from all across the ancient Mediterranean and beyond, the largest collection remains from works of the Latin language. Not giving future students the opportunity and knowledge to utilize these collections, which are unique to our university, would be a missed opportunity.

Cutting and reducing programs, such as classics, that define our school and represent its values is not the solution to the recent decline in enrollment. It is my belief that the discontinuation and severe reduction of these departments will further reduce enrollment, for our values will no longer be represented in our curriculum.

Students have had no say in this matter that directly influences the future of our education and the education of those after us, which goes against our identity as a Benedictine community. According to chapter three of The Rule of Benedict, “Whenever anything important is to be done in the monastery, the superior shall call together the whole community and personally explain the matter.”

We are now in the second stage of the APP process, and there has still been no communication from administration to the most important part of our community: the students. Administration’s lack of communication has silenced students from participating in our community—a direct violation of our Benedictine values. I entreat administration to listen to student input and to what we know our best interests to be. Communicate with us and allow us to participate in the community that we reserve the right to partake in.

I will end with this note: we as students have the ability to evoke change in a constructive and respectful manner. I implore each of you to reach out to administration and to advocate for your departments. Change is not going to happen on its own. Our education matters. Our interests matter. Our voices matter. Use them.