As a senior getting ready to graduate and say goodbye to Saint Anselm, there are a few things that stick out to me about the classes below me and the new classes getting ready to begin their four years here. The major element of these classes that jumps out at me is the sheer size of these classes, and it makes me think: there is no way that many students actually want to go here. 

Don’t get me wrong, I have enjoyed my time as a student here, and I can understand the general appeal of the small, liberal arts feel of the college and the beautiful and classic New England style of the campus. My concerns, however, regard the growing concerns made by the student body of how things are run at the college. 

Though the Administration probably views it as an unreliable source of information, YikYak is probably one of the best ways to get sincere student opinions, as anonymity gives people the confidence to be brutally honest. Students have been providing their concerns about the college for the entire academic year, and although the college might have issues with what is said, it’s an important forum for students to get their opinions heard. 

A lot of concerns I’ve seen on YikYak are regarding on-campus housing, and what sounds like an absolute housing crisis for the next academic year. I am sincerely glad that I am graduating and will no longer have to deal with the nonsense of a housing lottery, but I feel the frustration of my fellow student body. 

I don’t think it’s fair to enroll hundreds of students that cannot adequately be accommodated, on top of the hundreds of students that are already struggling to be accommodated here. There have been so many Crier articles written this year about housing, shining a light on students’ opinions, concerns, and the overall lack of available space for students choosing on-campus living. The thing that is most concerning about this issue, is that it likely is not going to get better anytime soon. This issue has likely not been shared and addressed with the incoming first-year class, and if it had, then there is no way that that many students would actually want to go here. 

Crowded residence halls, and overflowing classroom sizes is not at all what was promised to me when I was a first-year student here. If I had to endure the struggles that the current freshman, sophomore, and junior classes are going through, I cannot promise that I would’ve wanted to stay. Not only are the issues themselves frustrating, but it would be frustrating to feel that nothing is being done about it or that voices aren’t being heard. 

Now, don’t get me wrong, I think generally, Saint Anselm College is a great school and a wonderful place to spend four years getting an education, but it shocks me to know that the incoming class sizes are only getting bigger and bigger. Housing issues aside, I think I would have been shocked if my class was that large when I was a freshman. The college was pretty competitive when I was applying to schools in 2020-2021, and I’m curious if the college is losing its competitive edge that once made it so impressive. I understand wanting a college that is small, which can offer opportunities of gaining close connections with peers and professors, but if the college is going to continue to overflow in student population, don’t those promises kind of go out the window? 

I never wanted to attend a big college, and when I was a freshman, sophomore, and a junior, I never had to face the struggles that these classes are facing now. If the college is going to sacrifice the well-being of its students that are already here by forcing hundreds of students it can’t fit into the spaces, then some of the core values and promises of the college will be sacrificed in turn. 

Of course, I wish nothing but continued success for the college, but I don’t think success has to be completely synonymous with numbers. A large student body can definitely indicate a satisfied student body, but I think there are more important factors that contribute to the success of an institution like Saint Anselm. 

I think the genuine well-being of students contributes way more to the success of  the college than a large sum of a population of students does. Genuine care and well-being proves that students want to be here and care to have a place here. 

I think the connections that are made here, given the usual small community and small classroom sizes, contribute far more to the success of the college than building up numbers does. 

I think having students that make meaningful contributions to the academic, social, and extra-curricular elements of college life here are more important than the number of students enrolled. 

All I will say is I don’t think there are that many students that want to go here and actually fulfill those meaningful contributions that make Saint Anselm the college that it is.