During the University Senate meeting Wednesday, I was very surprised to hear the question raised about whether or not Syracuse University was compromising its reputation as a premiere academic institution in our quest to be a more inclusive campus. It seemed as if the professor was suggesting that there was an inherent tradeoff between the two options, but can we not have both? The competitiveness of our university is important to all of us as we prepare for our futures, and we expect our administrators to maintain a high level of competition. If you have been watching, they have done just that and more. Over the last 10 years, our acceptance rate has gone down while simultaneously offering opportunities to more students from all backgrounds and all geographic regions. No tradeoff has to be made here; there is no reason why we cannot maintain competitive acceptance rates while still providing opportunities for every person to come to Syracuse.

If we set aside the value of diversity, as suggested by The Daily Orange editorial from Monday, and explore the issue of class size, we can see the major strides our university has made with record high applications coming from strategic areas of the country and around the world. Studies have shown that the college student of the future will not necessarily come from the Northeast but from other areas of the country. Syracuse’s renewed popularity from New York City to Los Angeles and from Miami to Seattle bodes well for all of us as employers investigate our academic credentials. As our university grows, your Student Association has been actively working with the university administration to address issues of housing, resources and support to ensure that every student has an enjoyable time here. This is evident in our work with Residence Hall Association to get students out of residence hall lounges and our continued work with USen committees to address available resources to our growing international student population. We’ll continue to represent you and address your concerns because they affect each and every one of us, as one inclusive campus.

Neal Casey

President

Student Association, 55th Session