By: Amelia-Rose Williams
When I first heard about the issue on campus regarding our professors, I didn’t understand the entirety of the situation. Why was St. John’s suddenly no longer recognizing these unions? What message are they trying to advertise that they haven’t already? Only as I dug deeper did I begin connecting the dots to a much larger picture.
Right now in our country, education is under attack. Starting this summer in July, there will be changes made to what is identified as a “profession” in our country. This is not only a huge slap in the face to students who already sought out and began their educational journey for these “non-professional” jobs.It’s also extremely disrespectful to individuals already in those jobs.
Why does our president or our government get to decide what is considered professional or not? We are the ones who contribute tremendously to keeping our society functioning normally. How is it anyone’s concern what career an individual wants to pursue?
When I look at how this affects me as a student, I’m hearing and seeing fewer professors next semester. Students feel as though their needs are not being met, sudden changes are being made and the overall atmosphere has shifted. When I have a closer look at where the issue lies, I’m drawn to the huge basketball culture we have here on campus.
Although basketball is a big part of what makes St. John’s special, a lot of students feel as though it takes precedence over our satisfaction. For example, a basketball facility is replacing a favorable parking lot on campus and there has been slight upset regarding the last-minute building changes in residence life.
One could assume that the reason these sudden changes are happening is that we are having to pay for the growth of us regaining our reputation of being a basketball-centered school.
Various areas are being ignored due to the attention being drawn to non-necessities. I’m referring to recently finding out that a threat was made to cause harm to students here on campus, and we weren’t collectively notified to be on the lookout for the individual who made those threats.
To make matters worse, I’ve only heard this information through word-of-mouth from other students! With all these issues, it brings into question where our money is going and what or who is really a priority at our school. I love St. John’s; I’ve truly thrived here, but as students, we deserve transparency and security.