Not Selling Any Alibis | St. Joe's curriculum should discuss Jesuit roots

I'm now in my fourth year of attending St. Joe's, and I've loved every minute of it. We've got great professors, friendly people, and an administration that honestly makes a real attempt to cater to the wishes of every student here. One of the reasons I (and many other students) decided to come here was that close-knit, small school environment that is impossible to get at many other universities.

But sometimes I feel as if there's not enough background to the experience here. I'm writing specifically about the phenomenon that is Jesuit education-the guiding philosophy for this institution and for many of the faculty here. Sure, we all know about "care for the whole person" and "for the greater glory of God," but what, really, does that mean? Even as a senior, I couldn't tell you.

We know we're a community of individuals who care about education, personal growth, social justice, and responsibility to others; but how, exactly, does that fit into the Jesuit tradition?

Universities try to link themselves to superior moral character or goals of intense personal growth. We know we're different in that we actually live out those ideals, but we still don't know, exactly, how and why we do so. If we want to be recognized as the "preeminent Catholic, comprehensive university" in the region, we must first know ourselves and what we represent. So far, we're not doing that effectively.

About the only things many of us know about the Jesuit mission are those phrases on the banners hanging around campus. A few students learn about the founding of the Jesuits in their history classes. But even then, we learn about the militaristic, rigid, and dogmatic approach of the first Jesuits, the ones who struck fear into their enemies but didn't see education as one of their responsibilities.

It's not a stretch to say that few here know exactly why there are so many Jesuit universities or why so many Jesuits teach. What's with the emphasis on service? Why emphasize self-reflection instead of the community as the Augustinians do? Knowing the answers to these questions would help us not only to know better the history of our university, but also to be more in tune with the philosophy that drives decision-makers here and at other Jesuit universities.

That's why St. Joe's needs to emphasize both the origins and the mission of Jesuit education in one of our required classes. Taking two weeks out of every first-year theology or philosophy course to cover the story of the Jesuit mission wouldn't harm anyone.

Since no one recalls anything from their first theology anyway, telling us the principles of our university might make the experience a little more memorable. In fact, putting our education in context would let us know why we take the classes we do and what we are expected to learn from them.

Let's face it: this university is a lot more expensive and a lot more bothersome to travel to (at least for this California native) than many others are. The students here decided to attend because we loved the atmosphere, the community, and the emphasis on service and growth.

The opportunity to learn how those characteristics developed and why the Jesuits got into the business of teaching might serve as a foundation that would allow students to connect the ideals that brought them here to the goals they hope to achieve. Knowing the mission and values of our university would help develop students who know themselves and their purpose in the world.

This knowledge comes too late for most of the students already here. We're well-rounded, we're passionate, we're independent, and we care about our education and personal development. But we don't know why, and that will limit us in the future.

It's not too late for future students, though. Let's develop our university into the sort of institution that teaches students not only how they should be, but why they should be as well.