Miami University has experienced many substantial and sometimes controversial changes since the start of the 2024-2025 school year. The administration has increased faculty workload, and a new arena will dominate student gathering spaces. Changes to higher education in Ohio will undoubtedly be felt from Columbus to Oxford, leaving graduating seniors to reflect on the changes and where they will leave their beloved university.
Reflections
A graduating senior opined that someone passing through the campus would not know the physical and institutional changes that will soon descend upon Miami. Though the changes will have little to no effect on the senior, he deeply cares about the university and its way of life.
Environmental and Faculty Concerns
The outspoken Miami senior has reported on environmental concerns over the new arena, mainly how they were not considered before construction. He has also penned several staff editorials admonishing the administration over its mistreatment of faculty, which is raising concerns with the outgoing senior about how these changes reflect on him as he starts the employment process. The four years spent at the university largely determine graduates’ futures, and any negative impact the school has will reflect on their resumes.
Future Implications
If the university’s negative impacts reach far enough, some potential employers may view a graduate’s quality of education as diminished because they went to Miami. Issues of concern are classroom censorship in Senate Bill 1 and an overloaded STEM program. The university also has a stifled humanities program, and while seeking to be a liberal arts institution, the senior in question fears that his association with Miami will be misconstrued as hypocritical.
The student is graduating with a biology major, an environmental science co-major, and a minor in journalism. He wonders if future employers will question his knowledge about the scientific processes of climate change because it will soon be considered controversial in Ohio. Having a minor in journalism from Miami raises concerns as the university is consolidating many of its majors and submitting itself to free speech restrictions.
Looking Back
The soon-to-be graduate chose Miami for its national prominence and recognition for undergraduate teaching and research. In his opinion, this Public Ivy brand is losing its respected identity, which may reflect poorly on his resume. The student fears he chose the wrong school, though it was the best when he started attending four years ago. He regrets this thought as there is much about the university he holds dear.
The student enjoys the tree-lined walks and the city of Oxford. Academically, he wanted the freedom of studying liberal arts alongside STEM courses and the joy that the university and courses have brought him. The Miami Student changed his life by introducing him to the newsroom, and he will forever cherish these memories.
The graduating student hopes that future students will walk away with similar memories, ones to carry for a lifetime. He readily admits that Miami made him a better person and desperately hopes that the university he loves will not disappear before his eyes.
