In the past two semesters, The Maroon has released several articles about the general campus construction, almost all of it in a poor light, and I echo similar sentiments as written in Christopher Wiseman’s letter to the editor about our campus newspaper’s negative coverage of the construction.
To be frank, I find all of this negativity to be rather selfish. This short-term thinking of how campus has been ruined is the exact kind of thinking that has led to our ever-growing global environmental issues.
Yes, the campus doesn’t look great. Yes, it is inconvenient and expensive.
Yes, this construction is going to take a long time, and most of us won’t see the fruits of this labor. (I would also argue that this same line of thinking is used by those who disagree with student loan forgiveness because THEY didn’t have the chance to receive it.)
But all of this is to better Loyola. If we said no to every initiative that did not look pleasant or took too much time, then we can forget ever trying to solve our global dilemmas. If all we want is unproblematic, fast, and easy, then please, get in line and continue to perpetuate these issues.
As a campus that headlines its social justice efforts, where has that gone? We have to be selfless and think with a bigger picture in mind. The inconvenience is a fair complaint, and I would argue there probably is an insurmountable amount of difficulty for those who are disabled or handicapped in some way, and that should absolutely be addressed. But this general negativity has to be stopped.
Construction aside, our administration also bears the brunt of our criticism. Based on past publications, our professors are portrayed quite favorably and deservedly so, but our administration, our Student Government Association, the leaders of our campus, are held up to quite the critical lens. I want to make it clear that while there are things we need to ensure people are being held accountable for, the announcement of successes when administration gets it right are too few and far between.
Some of you might remember Sister Madonna, a well-respected presence on campus who recently retired. When I interviewed her once for an assignment, and she learned I worked at The Maroon, the first words out of her mouth were, “where has the positivity been lately?” I felt ashamed at her question and my lack of an answer, and it has haunted me ever since. Every issue we have published since, her words stalk me.
“Did we do good enough?” “Is this really how our campus feels?” “Did we make the right choice?”
I have stayed quiet, believing our job as journalists to be simple observers, documenting what we witness. However, if these are truly objective reports, then The Maroon reflects the attitudes of not only the newsroom, but the wider population of Loyola, and that is an attitude I have to take a stand against.
The job of a journalist is to report on critical issues, but also the issues that go unseen. The quiet victories of the night. I believe we owe it to our community to celebrate these victories; we owe our campus some good news. But not just for the sake of delivering good news. If we only notice the big victories, but then let both the big and mundane defeats get to us, we are doing a disservice to ourselves. The mundane, everyday victories deserve their place in the world, too. They deserve to be celebrated.
Lent is now upon us, a time of contemplation and self-reflection. It is when we ask ourselves how we can do better. Loyola, I am asking you to remember and hold fast to our Jesuit values. Where is our appreciation of things great and small? Where is our pursuit of excellence, our respect for the world, our hope-filled vision? I’m not asking you to suddenly find your faith in God, I am asking that we find our community again, one rooted in goodwill and justice.
So let us keep making the world a better place by holding those accountable who deserve to be held accountable, but let’s not forget this is not the only way to make the world a better place. Let us remember that it takes a village for everything in life. Let us rebuild that village.
