D is very interested in Syracuse - it is probably her top choice. She applied RD, so still waiting for decision. Is anyone else who either applied or was already accepted concerned about all of the apparent discontent on campus - specifically the protests on campus by #NotAgainSU, a black student-led movement protesting alleged covering up of racial bias incidents by the school? (If you are not aware of all of this, go to The Daily Orange website). They have now come up with a list of 34 “demands”, and Syracuse has hired former Obama AG Loretta Lynch to investigate the university police response to the protest, as #NotAgainSU now wants them to be disarmed since the students feel “unsafe”.
I don’t know much about what is actually going on there, but when we visited last month none of the tour guides or other students we spoke to indicated they felt unsafe, and they were of the belief most of the unrest over the incidents that occurred on campus last semester had passed and the situation was being adequately addressed by the administration. Now all this is happening again. And the nationwide press covering these events is not helpful. I have already heard from friends and associates, “Why would your D want to go to Syracuse with all the problems they are having there?”
Does anyone know how the average Syracuse student feels about all of this? Is the day-to-day routine being disrupted, or is it really not as big an issue as it is being portrayed? I personally feel this is overblown, but I am fearful of the consequences. My D likes Syracuse they way she perceives it today. What I fear is she will enter the school at a time of of extreme upheaval and social change on campus, which will ultimately affect her college experience. Personally, I want her to go to college first and foremost for an academic education. I also want her to have the time of her life socially. She is a smart girl and has had an excellent upbringing, and can draw her own conclusions about social justice issues. But I want her to focus on what is important to her while she is at college. Right or wrong, these types of protests can be very disruptive to the entire student body, creating tensions, sowing divisions, and can distract students from the reasons they are really there.
I really never heard anything bad about Syracuse until recently - but now that my D is interested in attending, I am concerned. Does anyone else have reservations as well?