Editor’s Note: All opinion section content reflects the views of the individual author only and does not represent a stance taken by The Collegian or its editorial board.
Universities across America are never pamphlet-perfect; students often lack the twinkling smiles as seen on the cover page. The acclaimed diverse school, featuring the same photoshopped student of color on multiple pages, is actually not diverse. The campus grass is never that green — merely oversaturated, like a sickly Willy Wonka movie.
The truth, prospective students, is that the college you committed to is not accurately advertised. It is the tour guide’s job to sell the school spirit, the tailgates, the lively clubs, the dazzling study abroad programs, the one-to-nine student-teacher ratio and the gourmet dining halls. It is also their job to deliberately exclude the safety alerts, the alcohol poisoning, the club defunding, the abroad costs, the limited lecture times and the incessant complaints of food poisoning.
Colorado State University is an ostensibly good school. We rank high in the nation’s top public universities, we are one of the most affordable schools in Colorado, we are sustainable, we offer a multitude of different learning paths and we genuinely have staff who care deeply about the success of their students.
“If you’re reading this as a prospective student, then welcome: It’s time to do a deep dive.”
We also have a four-year graduation rate of 47%, our student body is overwhelmingly white and I have witnessed our class sizes reach upward of 200 students, depending on the major.
Most of this information is all readily available online to both the CSU student body and prospective students alike. None of this knowledge is necessarily hidden nor is it unique to CSU; many public universities across America have identical issues. Issues that, if one were to ask about, would be readily acknowledged — though, the CSU administration won’t go screaming about their class sizes from the rooftops.
But the most crucial details to know about CSU are rapidly and silently being dismissed, defunded or dismantled. These details will not be directly posted on our websites or mentioned on a tour. No ranking site or college representative will fit them into a statistic because the administration will not echo the voices of students who can speak on such information.
These details include the rapid dismantling of diversity, equity and inclusion at CSU, including the renaming and removal of DEI-related staff training, majors, classes, clubs, scholarships, research and student services; the lack of protection, solidarity and acknowledgement of undocumented students despite repeated protests and petitions; and the overall inability to clearly and effectively communicate with affected students at each step of the way.
As a federally funded institution, CSU is, in many ways, legally bound to abide by federal legislation regarding public universities. The CSU administration continually uses this fact to justify the aforementioned decisions when, in fact, multiple other universities have proven that institutions can legally follow the rules and advocate for their students simultaneously.
So when prospective students conduct research on CSU, they will not receive a comprehensive depiction of our school — and that is not their fault. It is the fault of our administration for not clearly, extensively and publicly communicating the recent developments and dismantlement of our key, founding principles.
The most accurate depiction of any institution comes from the mouths of its students. You can find endless student opinions and news about CSU, both good and bad, right here at The Collegian. If you’re reading this as a prospective student, then welcome: It’s time to do a deep dive.
Reach Emma Souza at letters@collegian.com or on Twitter @_emmasouza.
