It’s about time we talk about the elephant in the room— spring and summer semester placement. For those who petitioned with only 40 spots available, the roughly 10:1 odds of being on campus for the Spring for were daunting. I’d like to believe that the administration did the best they could in prioritizing the students who needed it most. Needless to say…they didn’t.
We can all agree that seniors deserve to have their last semesters here on campus after putting in three years and way too many tuition dollars (a story for another time) into this institution. I also see the economic benefits of inviting freshmen to have a full year on campus so that they have a SLU experience that’s worth going into debt for.
That’s all well and good, but why oh why were juniors not given priority over sophomores, and what was the basis in reasoning? Let’s list the ways in which these pending applications failed the student body.
Firstly, those who weren’t selected never received an email that notified, let alone justified, their application not being accepted for the spring semester. Hundreds of students watched their friends wake up to good news while they waited in stale silence for the email that never came.
Second, when students finally realized who was selected and who wasn’t, there was absolutely no consistency within the selection process. Someone needs to explain why a sophomore CA was given priority when junior CAs were left out in the cold? Why were athletes given their spring seasons when some students literally won’t have access to wifi for a remote semester?
Third, a student wouldn’t be able to explain why they were accepted because no justifications were given in the email. How do we know that those most capable of paying full room and board weren’t given priority? The vagueness of these acceptances could easily be used to shroud any unethical judgments on why a student was/wasn’t accepted.
Fourth and finally, many of the juniors who were left behind will not be able to graduate on time. Personally, I will probably be forced to do an extra semester because I won’t have access to the classes I need remotely. So, who’s willing to pay up for that extra semester of tuition I can’t afford?
Students,staff,and faculty have all been put through the ringer this semester. It’s not easy to adapt to circumstances like these and I’m aware that the administration has had to make many quick decisions. However, a simple rejection email can’t be too hard to muster even with a deadline. The student body deserved better.