Aesthetics over experience: neglect of student life

“Together, we flourish.” So read the shiny new motto the CSB+SJU administrative team slapped on the school during the 2023 presidential inauguration. They emphasized the unique aspects that characterized each school, boasting that this minor administrative shift would forever unite the campuses to create a utopic
community that higher education had never seen.

But who is actually flourishing? Two years and several million dollars later, the student body has been completely neglected. The unprecedented and energetic campaign that marked the 2023-24 school year appears to have been limited to a week’s worth of programming.

During the 2022-23 school year, the Board of Trustees announced huge curriculum cuts. Eight major programs and nine minor programs were eliminated, including French, German, Latin, Japanese, Asian Studies, Gender Studies, Chinese, Greek and Peace Studies. These were programs that encouraged students to expand their worldviews and increased cultural competency and global citizenship.

I understand that budget cuts are essential to keep up with the dynamic world of higher education, and that
this institution has seen financial hardships over the years. However, after cutting 17 major and minor programs to conserve revenue, one would assume that the institution would be a little more conscientious
of their spending. Unfortunately this assumption is woefully inaccurate.

Tuition costs have increased by around $5,000 since the class of 2026 started at CSB+SJU during the 2022-23 academic year. We have watched the administration make cuts to programs, and fail to hire new professors when current ones seek retirement, or career advancements elsewhere. All in the name of saving a buck.

But where is this money going? Certainly not towards facilities updates — our on-campus spaces are outdated. Brother Willie’s Pub, a once-vibrant social hub, is anemic, collecting dust and reminiscent of a better era. Our residence halls are incapable of maintaining stable living conditions, leaving students sweltering in the warmer months and bundling up to go to bed once the temperature dips below 50 degrees.

Not toward the faculty and staff, who report lower levels of satisfaction with our campuses than those other
institutions. Students report mold in their living facilities every year, and the Residence Life teams are understaffed and not equipped with the resources to meet all student needs. The administrative team has
exponentially grown over the years.

Certainly not towards student life either — our students are not supported. The CSB+SJU student Senates are given a microscopic portion of the school’s money with which they are expected to meet the funding needs of all student clubs. The school’s campus climate is officially assessed each year, but no administrative energy is allotted to mitigate the glaring discrimination that disabled students, those from a lower socioeconomic class, BIPOC students or members of the LGBTQ+ community report every year.

So, what are our tuition dollars actually supporting?

A new logo. How many millions of dollars were dropped to rebrand the shield with a cross to a groundbreaking honeycomb with a cross? Not just on new merch, but also on the walls, floors and signs of every building on campus. A marketing rebrand is clearly just what we needed.

Or maybe it’s all going toward another innovative shift—the remodel of the bookstore. Now instead of having a bookstore, we’ve got a spirit shop. Here, students can get t-shirts and hats with the new logo slapped onto it. But they cannot get school supplies, household essentials or textbooks — all things that the old bookstores housed. Need a new notebook? Go to Target. Don’t have a car? Maybe take one of the rebranded link buses into St. Cloud next Saturday.

Perhaps the money is going to paying our staff and professors more. Probably not though. Faculty have
gotten a 2% pay increase across the board, which does not keep up with inflation.

It is likely that the majority of our tuition dollars are going towards the marketing and communications efforts. The logo, the new banners that popped up all over campus last year, the plus sign instead of the slash
between CSB and SJU, the brand new True North Journey Program and the enticement of new students through numerous outreach campaigns.

I attended the Joint Faculty Assembly meeting last Thursday, and observed as they discussed the results from the Higher Education Data Sharing Consortium Campus Climate Survey. The general consensus from these results was that several different groups on campus feel marginalized and discriminated against. I left the
meeting frustrated because it did not seem like actionable steps would be taken to improve student experience.

The issue at hand is that the school is far more concerned with their outward-facing image than they are about the well-being of the students they currently enroll. Sure, a new logo and some banners look pretty, but what is the value of that when students are deeply unsatisfied with the experience you present?

CSB+SJU is an institution that considers community to be one of its foundational values, but our community is bleeding. There are so many unique programs and stories that exist solely on these campuses, but we have abandoned our core values in search of the perfect aesthetic.

When will the administration stop dropping millions on pointless marketing campaigns and work to improve the student experience?

When will this school understand that they are responsible for their own downfall?

It hasn’t happened in my four years. I’ll wait.