Now that the majority of the editorial positions on the newspaper for next year have been elected, the transition of responsibility for those positions has begun. The edition after this one will be the senior issue, which I’m going to place in the hands of Stacey Axler, who will be the editor-in-chief next year.
Graduation is almost exactly one month away, and contrary to the crippling senioritis I’ve been experiencing, everyone is telling me that I’ll miss undergrad once it’s over.
While I’m sure this is true, if I’m going to miss being in college, it will probably be more out of vague nostalgia or a desire to revise certain decisions than a genuine wish to relive the experience. Undergrad has been a very strange experience: not completely fulfilling but also not completely disillusioning.
I’ve learned a lot, both academically and about myself, in my four years at Hood, but I don’t think even the ideal experience would have been worth the price tag. I do think liberal arts are important, but where have all these tens of thousands dollars gone? Are we paying for an actual experience, one that is educational, social, and significant, or are we paying for the illusion of an experience?
To a certain extent, I do feel like I’ve had a voice during my time here, and a number of courses I’ve taken and professors I’ve met have been invaluable. The bureaucracy and phoniness of it all, however, is impossible to ignore and so discouraging. Hood needs to figure out what exactly it is trying to offer its students.
The former editor of The Blue and Grey, Morgan Wright, once said that Hood was in an “identity crisis,” and I think that’s completely accurate. Is this a liberal arts school where academics are actually a priority, where there’s a real sense of community, or is it just a place where people come to get a degree and then leave? I really don’t know.
Every individual brings a unique perspective and motive to his or her college experience, but I feel like Hood’s student population is incredibly fractured. People aren’t here for the same reasons. There’s no unifying element among the student body. For all the talk about the “Hood community,” I’m not sure there really is one.
The problems here can’t be fixed until the college will come out and honestly say what its actual priorities and goals are, instead of propping up this misleading and confusing facade.
Catherine Collins
Editor-in-Chief