Recently, a friend who is somewhat removed from student politics commented calmly and observantly about how exciting it is to watch campus change. His remarks were hardly extraordinary; columnists and student leaders remark about our changing campus frequently.
In 2009, Crimson White editor Victor Luckerson even founded a publication dedicated to the idea. He called it “Changing Tides.”
But what is remarkable, what is unique about our current situation, is the extent to which these changes are being noticed by a large swath of the student body. I have heard the same sentiment echoed repeatedly – students sense that things are different – that the old rules don’t apply, that the ground is shifting beneath us, that campus isn’t changing like it normally changes, by bringing in new students and graduating older ones, that these changes aren’t being steered by any one person, group or institution but are the culmination of many different developments feeding off each other.
This has created a growing sense of uncertainty about what campus will look like, not just by the time our freshman class graduates, but by the time this senior class graduates.
And that uncertainty has fed confusion. There is a general sense of, what do we do? How do we take advantage of this moment?
We have already witnessed many significant, unusual events. In the last two years alone, we have opened a new amphitheater, bought the Bryce property and expanded our stadium. We have been rocked with natural disaster, shocked with scandal and reigned victorious in a BCS National Championship.
We have watched student enrollment climb to record highs and become embroiled in a conversation over whether the administration is trying to build a university or grow a business.
Either way, though, by growing our student body and expanding our campus, the administration is forcing other changes to our culture and community. Whether it is doing so intentionally or not, we, as students, have an opportunity to seize this moment to reshape the institutions and organizations that make up our campus for a new era in Capstone history.
The same growing pains that force us to evaluate problems like parking and traffic open a window for us to address other issues, like freshman mentoring, greek recruitment, dining services and the quality of our courses and our curriculum.
But what is our end goal? What do students want? What do the types of students we want to attract to our University in the future want?
Towards the end of last year, I spoke with a group of students about these issues. Almost universally, they wanted, first and foremost, to create an environment of more equal opportunity for students.
That means more opportunities for students to connect with one another and identify like-minded peers, more small classes and seminars that allow for expansive conversations about pressing topics, and, especially in the wake of the tornado, more opportunities to invest in and connect with the Tuscaloosa community.
It means more inclusivity across campus and more opportunities in student organizations.
But the most important opportunity this moment affords is the ability to connect with students who for years haven’t paid much attention to campus events, either because their hopelessness led to apathy or they thought their interests were being safely guarded.
Now, they are paying attention. They are chomping at the bit for someone to engage them, to ask them what they think. It is imperative that student leaders and administrators take advantage of this opportunity and reach out.
We are blessed to go to a great school at a great moment. We can celebrate our traditions while defining new ones. We can build on our strengths while overcoming our weaknesses.
We can do more to shape the trajectory of The University of Alabama than any generation of students in decades. But we must grab ahold of our own fate and not let events shape it for us.
Tray Smith is the opinions editor of The Crimson White. His column runs on Thursdays.
“By growing our student body and expanding our campus, the administration is forcing other changes to our culture and community. Whether it is doing so intentionally or not, we, as students, have an opportunity to seize this moment to reshape the institutions and organizations that make up our campus for a new era in Capstone history.”
#UAchange
