To Members of the Saint Anselm College Community, 

My name is Diego Benites, and for nearly two years, I have had the pleasure and privilege of serving as the Student Body Vice President. Within this role, I invited Prof. Aubrey Scheopner-Torres to a Student Senate meeting to speak upon the new first-year pilot program so members of the Student Senate–and student body at-large–can contribute to the program’s development. I am sincerely grateful that Prof. Scheopner-Torres graciously accepted the invitation. What followed was a fruitful conversation regarding the pilot program. Following that meeting, I was asked to write a letter to the Faculty Senate to further contextualize and expand on the various concerns that were brought up. It has been a few weeks since I sent my letter to the Faculty Senate, and over the course of that time, I’ve realized that it might be beneficial for the college community at-large to hear some of my thoughts and concerns that I expressed in that letter. With this realization, I have taken some of the major points of the letter to construct this article and express some of my larger concerns. I would like to begin by celebrating what I see are the program’s strengths. Unlike my colleagues, I see the elimination of traditional midterm and final exams as a positive change. As I pointed out earlier during the discussion portion of Prof. Scheopner-Torres’ presentation, recent studies have shown that traditional examinations are not the best pedagogical practice. With the advent of Google and other search engines making information quickly accessible, college courses should be focused more on developing other skills such as critical thinking and close reading rather than memorization. I also commend the committee’s inclusion of contemporary texts into the course curriculum. I believe they offer new and fresh perspectives that will expose students to voices that otherwise would not be heard. The classics are classics for a reason, but the majority of them tend to be written by straight white-males because other demographic groups weren’t afforded the same opportunities to write and publish. It’s my belief that a balance of both modern and classical texts is essential to teach students that these issues of human nature have been around for a long time and different people have addressed them in different ways. My concern is that the community is not correctly defining what exactly is the issue at hand. This is not just about creating a new humanities course and determining what kinds of books first-year students should read to introduce them to the liberal arts. The battle over the first-year course is just a mere symptom of a larger socio-cultural issue that the college, academia and even society at large is currently grappling with. The real issue at hand that needs to be addressed is the current crisis of confidence created by the ongoing social malaise. We are currently living in a time of great turmoil. Right now society is plagued with numerous ongoing crises that seem to have no end in sight: inflation, unaffordable housing, student loans, racism, LGBT rights, women’s rights, voting rights/election security, climate change, immigration, healthcare, gun rights/violence, effects of globalization, wealth inequality, two wars abroad threatening the global stability, the culture war, political polarization, and the list goes on. On one hand, some have observed that many of society’s long standing institutions (i.e. government, banks, media, etc.) are doing little or nothing to address these ongoing issues. At times it seems that their actions have only exacerbated these issues. On the other hand, others have pointed out that these crises have caused the deterioration of other social institutions (i.e. academia, the family, religion, etc.). Resulting from the deterioration of certain institutions and inaction/abuse of others, there has been a growing sense of alienation and anomie. During my time on the Hilltop, I’ve observed the effects that these larger socio-cultural issues have had on both the student body and college community at large. Students today are currently living within a state of loss. Although YikYak can certainly be problematic at times, I’ve begun noticing certain trends in students’ anonymous messages. Many expressed their struggles to build and maintain relationships, resulting in feelings of isolation, loneliness, and hopelessness. They feel that critical moments of their adolescents were robbed from them because of the pandemic. They were told to be patient while the world adjusted to a new normal, but it seems this promised new normal is severely flawed, unstable, and generating uncertainty. They’ve also expressed they no longer have the same opportunities their parents once had due to inflation, student loan debt, and the job market. Needless to say, students feel anxious about their future. The recent changes by the college–such as the first-year humanities course–seem to be contributing to these feelings of anxiety. I recognize these changes are deemed necessary to prepare the college for the upcoming demographic cliff while ensuring the college’s academics meets the current needs of the college and students. While we are undergoing these changes, it is important to keep in mind that these challenges are not unique to Saint Anselm. Current trends in higher education are forcing changes across the board–from the Ivy league institutions like Harvard to small liberal arts colleges like Merrimack. As we begin adapting to these current changes in higher education, I’ve observed an increasing lack of trust amongst the various branches of this college. We are all so uncertain of what the future might hold that I fear we are taking our frustrations and anxieties out on each other. These are certainly difficult times, but the only way we can get through this moment is with each other. I believe in this community and in every Anselmian across this campus. I promise we will get through this moment–just like we have done during the tough moments that preceded this–but only if we continue to have faith in one another. I employ you all to begin looking at the many things that unite us rather than divide us as we face the various challenges ahead. 

Best, 

Diego Benites 

SGA Vice President