My first day back on campus I was stopped dead in my tracks by a massive white tent spread from end to end of the championship field. After being here for three years I’ve gotten used to seeing changes. And yet, as I arrived onto campus this fall I turned and faced a massive statue that, to the best of my knowledge, wasn’t there three months ago. Walking through the now all too familiar malls of this school I saw signs describing pricing hikes, new buildings, cut budgets, and financial difficulties. And I wish this was something new this year, but newsflash to the younger students here, this is a trend with a long legacy. Now all that said, I’m not against the University spending its money to help further enrich our experience here. And as someone who has spent far too many late nights on excel, I completely understand the needs of a large institution like Seattle U to budget balance, especially in the current political and economic climate. My issue, what hits me the hardest, what has been burning in my chest these past three years, is: where was I when these decisions were being made?

I could use the age-old argument of “my money, my school”, but it’s so much deeper than that. As a Jesuit institution there is an obligation, on both sides, to work towards the best interest of students and the betterment of the fantastic learning environment that really does exist on this campus despite the issues. Moreover, there is a fleeting feeling when I think of the causes students have fought so hard for these past years. Being a senior is a bittersweet feeling. You want to go out into the world so badly, but you don’t want to leave all this behind, especially when you feel as if things are left unfinished. We can’t let that happen, I love this school too much to simply sit idly by while the money is untraceable, divestment is uncertain, and critical budgets are cut. And it’s that passion that drives us, as students, as redhawks, as people, to make sure that we’re truly making a just and humane campus for leaders who come after us.

—Jason Bono, News Editor & Managing Editor