I can envision in my mind the peaceful crash of the waves as I feel the grit of the wet sand being crushed between my toes, looking outward into the everlasting ocean. I can smell the food my mother would cook for me every night when I got home from school or work and the chatter of students as they rush from hallway to hallway, trying to get to their next class or leaving the school for the day. As I am writing this article, we are only a few short weeks away from the start of the brand new school year, and I find myself conflicted.
On one hand, I am excited to move into a major city for the first time in my life, finding new friends from all paths of life, making connections to future jobs and internships, and contributing to the school’s continuing progress toward a school that serves the community of Boston academically for those unable to afford the extreme cost of private universities and colleges in the area.
However, reading over all the past articles that The Mass Media writers have written, I have realized there are issues that we, as a community, must deal with. The lack of affordable housing. The increasing tuition rate for all students. The continuing fight to provide the Africana Studies Department enough funding to support their students. The lack of new facilities. The internal issues between staff members and the administration to have fair wages in a city that suffers the unfortunate issue of poverty and homelessness due to the cost of living in Boston. These issues still plague the campus to this day, even though writers before me have continually asked the University to address these issues.
While this has made me a little worried entering the UMass Boston campus, I think there are still positive aspects that are being made. The addition of the brand new quad layout later this year will help to breathe new life into a campus that needs it. Clubs such as the Undergraduate Student Government are continuing to fight for students on all levels, from providing feminine products around campus to fighting for parking. I find that the community at UMass Boston is close-knit and diverse. The location of the campus cannot be beaten when it comes to being right by the shining sea and being close to all of the fun things Boston provides to students who are trying to relax from a hard day of work and college.
These two sides to UMass Boston, the good and bad, remind me distinctly of my hometown, a little town called Bluffton, S.C.
Bluffton has seen immense growth over the last 20 years, even being known as the fastest growing municipality in the entire state. This growth has allowed the city to invest in itself to help keep the growth train chugging along. We have one major university in Bluffton: the University of South Carolina-Beaufort. This campus has seen some of the same issues that UMass Boston has been facing, especially pertaining to housing. The local housing market has boomed as a result of Bluffton’s immense growth, but this also means that those who are trying to get by are faced with an issue: stay in town or move away to a place with cheaper housing but less opportunities for work. As a result, Bluffton and the surrounding towns are fighting to get more workforce housing so people can stay close to their jobs and schools without having to move hours out just to be able to live.
Bluffton, in this way, and the USCB as well, remind me of Boston and UMass Boston in the way that housing is the most important issue: finding affordable apartments that will allow students and residents alike to remain in the town that they love and work in.
With all of these thoughts embedded into my head, I find myself hopeful for the future. I think if UMass Boston addresses the issues that both the students and faculty are facing at this current moment, they will continue to have students come in, looking for a way to better their life through education. We could establish ourselves as our own university with its own rich academics and culture, not simply a division of the UMass system. For right now, though, I am relaxing, enjoying the last few weeks of summer and excited to see what UMass Boston is like in-person and what I will experience for the upcoming school year.