Oh Moravian...

Moravian College, my alma mater, is a place that I have always had a special place in my heart for.  My experience as a student there was, for the most part, positive.  I continue to assert that the four years I spent at Moravian College were some of the best years of my life both in regards to my education and my social growth.  The experiences gained in and out of the class room were second to none and gave  me full confidence in the institutional choice I made at the end of high school.

With that said,  I have become disappointed with decisions that have been made by the administration as of late.  As a member of the Moravian alumni community it was with dismay that I learned of the decision  by the administration to stop issuing off campus release as well forcing everyone on campus on to buy a meal plan.   I have several issues with these decisions and believe they will hurt, not help the campus community.

The first of these concerns is that student participation amounted to either minimal or no participation.  Now this remains the same type of environment that existed when I was a student from 2004-2008.  Decisions that directly impacted the student body were made by a administrators and if we were lucky a couple of students were thrown in to the mix.   For a college that looks to promote proactive students through their fairly recently established Leadership Center (2004) and through programs like LeaderShape, the message the administration is sending is a very contradicting message.  Moravian apparently feels they need to put up a "front"  perhaps make it seem like we are a school that promotes the above type of qualities.   However, when it comes down to it, you need to practice what you preach, and that's something that hasn't quite lined up at Moravian.

Another part of this that I find troubling, is that with the new rules that have been put in place there has been a major loss of the learning experience at Moravian College.  While clearly there is much to be learned through the academic part of college, including going to class, participating in research, working with groups etc.  There  is another part  that has now been handicapped at Moravian.   What one does when one isn't in class is an important part of the learning process.   Time management, decision making, cooking, just to name a few.  These are some of the out of class room lessons that can be picked up during ones time at college.  While many of the these remain,  the loss of off campus housing has the possibility of handicapping students down the road.  Students no longer will have the opportunity of going through the process of applying for an apartment as well as cooking and cleaning and providing for themselves the things the need to get by.  Bill paying,  electricity, rent, heat, etc. will have to wait until after college.

What it comes down to for me is that students at Moravian, for those who would have chosen are being denied the chance to take on more responsibility, and in several ways challenge themselves even further. To me this is not acceptable.  For those who want to stay on campus great!  Let's not deny those who seek it, to further their experience into adulthood.

This decision continues to puzzle me and I believe must be rectified.