Graduate students: who are they? We realized that we didn’t know the answer to that question, nor do we feel the university as a whole does.

The issue was raised after the conclusion of this year’s Student Government Association elections. As usual, no graduate students participated in the election process. It is not that they are forbidden from doing so, but rather that there is no clear path for graduate students to follow in order to have their voice heard in student government.

This is not simply an SGA problem. At The Maroon, we often overlook that same population. The vast majority of our content is focused toward undergraduate students, despite the fact that our graduate programs are nationally recognized.

There is clearly a disconnect between the graduate population and undergraduate population of Loyola. We go to classes at separate times, so it is easy to understand why they receive so little attention from the university as a whole, especially when the major organizations at Loyola are dominated by undergraduate students – The Maroon included.

This being said, the university as a whole needs to work together to create a more unified student body with both graduate and undergraduate students. Such a unified student body could only bring tangible benefits and new opportunities to all Loyola students, no matter their degree program.

In the end, we all bleed maroon and gold, don’t we?