Will Suffolk last another 10 years?
Will Suffolk make it another 10 years? At this point it’s become more of a concern with whether or not the rising students will want to pursue a degree – regardless of if it’s at Suffolk or not.
If over the course of the next 10 years, the general apathetic outlook on life that seems to have been adopted by students and millennials everywhere – it’s not the school that needs to worry. It’s the people who are here now.
If everything we’ve worked for turns out to be for naught because of an uprising, or perhaps the lack thereof, what will we all have been working toward?
Building up a school and it’s supposed reputation only to hand it over to those who don’t seem to care whether or not it stays 10 years after they depart seems disheartening.
– Felicity Otterbein, Arts Editor
With our borderless university located in the heart of Boston, student-athletes are given the opportunity to compete in a city with arguably the nation’s best sports teams. Although our athletics department does not give out athletic scholarships, athletes still seek to play a Division III sport at Suffolk, and because of this, the athletics department itself is fully capable of lasting and thriving for another 10 years. Within the past five years, the department has not only obtained a new home for men’s and women’s soccer, baseball and softball, but it has also renovated it’s varsity weight room for student-athletes. With the commitment from athletes and growth of each program, it is only fair that Suffolk students as a whole start to cheer on our teams from the sidelines. Suffolk athletics continue to expand but our Suffolk pride continues to diminish. Our athletes work day in and day out, not only for themselves and their teams, but to represent our university. Although they never personally ask for a fan section, recognition is deserved. As students attending the same university it is imperative to support one another, including our student athletes. The fields may be far and time is not often easily found to make it to Regan Gymnasium, but representing our university strays farther away from just wearing a sweatshirt with the Suffolk logo on it. Our student-athletes are constantly going the extra mile when it comes to accurately representing the “student” in student athlete. They too are spending countless hours in the library, seeking internship opportunities and attempting to balance a personal life. The difference between our student athletes and our students is that everyday they are working alongside their teammates competing in a sport with passion. Our athletics department, with its 19 varsity sports, is not subsiding. Therefore, our student body needs to stand up and support those around them that work hard everyday towards a common goal.
– The Sports Editors
For more than 80 years, The Suffolk Journal has been the leading force holding Suffolk University accountable. With a team lined with reporters listening at every corner of campus, the time to represent and advocate for the student voice could not be more important. As we, the executive board, head into our final weeks of being the forefront of university affairs, we keep both the past and present in mind, delivering the news that every person- student, staff and faculty member- have the right to know.
However, this university has a severe problem. As some of the organizations, committees and administrative members of this institution look to mask the truth, we look to shine a light. As each reporter on our staff begins asking questions, either by knocking on office doors, sending emails or making phone calls, there is a stigma on campus to “not talk to the newspaper.” The Journal was established with a main goal to report the truth, not create slander. Yet, repeatedly, staff members have been threatened, student leaders say “they just can’t say” and faculty fear for their tenure when we ask even just the simplest questions.
Administration, I call on you. The more you threaten an employee’s livelihood, the more The Journal will hunt, ask and find out.
– Alexa Gagosz, Editor-in-Chief
Suffolk has been a staple in the city of Boston for more than 100 years and is built around its recognizable law school. It is home to the biggest population of international students in the area and fosters a diverse community of people.
Through the years, programs have come and gone from the university, but what has always remained is the university itself. Over the course of the next 10 years, it will not entirely extinguish. That is not saying that certain programs within the university will not weaken or strengthen, but the university itself will remain an entity.
While Suffolk will remain, the university needs to think about making higher standards for its students. With an acceptance rate of 82.4% any student can easily study here. Students should not have to do the bare minimum in order to go to a university where they should be shaping their education and experiences for the future.
As Suffolk students, we should continue to challenge each other and ourselves to be better and get the most out of this education. The learning opportunities we are granted are a privilege that is not often taken advantage of.
As students, we should be proud to have the possibility to attend a higher education and take complete advantage of it.
– Hannah Arroyo, Asst. Sports Editor & Brooke Patterson, Sports Editor
Over the past few weeks, as I had discussions with other students who will also graduate soon, I’ve been hearing the same thing:
“I chose Suffolk because they promoted diversity. When I got here I found out that diversity wasn’t what I thought it would be.”
Their expectations of diverse meant seeing other students of color, or other LGBTQ+ identified students on campus. Instead they met many cisgendered, heterosexual white students.
The students of color that I spoke with came from high schools rich with many students of various ethnic and racial backgrounds. Cultures were truly blending together day-to-day in and out of the classroom. Each student showed a level of appreciation for each others cultures that was rooted in mutual respect.
For LGTBQ+ students, expectations coming into the university were that of an overflow of queer pride from many students. Many of these students come from a high school where safety meant staying hidden, unable to live their fullest lives. Others stood as leaders in accepting communities.
For me, as a bisexual latino student my experience is different. I came from a class of 100 students where I was one of nine students of color to graduate. Multiple that by four and I was one of roughly 25 students of color at my high school. One could say I was hungry to see more students like me. Suffolk in some ways did provide that for me.
Throughout my time in high school, LGBTQ+ identified students were ostracized. There were no openly queer players on the sports team, and I wanted to play badly enough that I stayed in the closet, convincing myself that I was wrong about my sexuality. Suffolk in some ways provided me the space for me to be comfortable with who I am and to grow into my identities.
When I hear these other students speak of how diversity at Suffolk is disappointing for them, I cannot say that was my experience. But, I do understand their concerns revolving around the way the greater Suffolk population handles diversity at this university. I believe the disappointment these students feel is valid, and I also believe the way Suffolk diversity is deceptive. These deceptions may not be intentional, but their impact on students is significant, as students come to the university with misconceptions of reality.
Yes, there are wonderful student organizations that provide hubs for students to voice their concerns and be around people that are culturally sensitive and aware to their experiences. Students also have the Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion to provide them with resources to navigate through undergraduate life. There are other offices dedicated to providing scholarship opportunities to marginalized students as well.
But when is Suffolk going to stop incorrectly advertising how diverse it is to lure students with marginalized identities to campus? Yes, the university could use far more people of color and more queer identified people, and ask any one of us and they’ll agree. But they need new methods in getting us here; not all of us are happy being used as marketing materials.
– Nathan Espinal, Senior Staff Writer