From a student’s first day on campus, he or she will learn about the three hallmarks of Saint Anselm education: the individual, the community, and the divine. If the college decided to cut or reduce the theology requirement, it would be a betrayal of the third pillar of its identity.

Although some students may grumble about having to take a theology class, the program’s importance at Saint Anselm College cannot be understated. 

In light of the looming $2 million academic budget cut, the fate of our core curriculum is a subject of many conversations in this newspaper and all around campus. 

One proposal has been to drop theology and philosophy requirements to three courses instead of four, so students are required to take one of each and pick a third from either category.

In a conversation with Dr. Ward Holder, who teaches politics and theology, we both agreed that one theology course does not make a Catholic education. 

In the current course catalog, there are seven offerings to fulfill biblical literacy and 24 options for Catholic theoretical reasoning. Every student must take one from each category. 

My concern is that if theology is hit by budget cuts, the course offerings could be reduced. This would negatively impact the student experience by limiting their options for an engaging core requirement class.

Before Dean Cronin’s lecture, in a conversation with a group of honors students, many expressed the sentiment that they were taking core courses that were alright but they didn’t care about the material.

As Professor Holder said on page 4, theology courses that approach the material from new angles that resonate with students are much more attractive and engaging. 

In my time at Saint A’s, I’ve found myself drawn to looking at my classes through a feminist lens and incorporating that research into different projects. One of my favorite classes I’ve taken was Women in the Old Testament with Professor Aihda Pilarski because it allowed me to look at the Bible from a perspective that I had a deep personal connection to. 

I hope that, as the college considers budget cuts, it does not simply slash classes or core requirements because the department has fewer numbers than before. Rather, they should consider ways to make the core curriculum more engaging in order to help students explore the divine beyond just Conversatio.