Growing into the 21st century

We so often are told to look at who we are and what role Gonzaga and the ideals of a Jesuit education have played in us as persons becoming. We are rarely told to take a step back and look at Gonzaga and how it is a university becoming. As a student body, we are living the years that are putting Gonzaga on the map as an established, premier Jesuit institution.

These years that we are attending Gonzaga may not only be some of the most important years in our lives, but important years in Gonzaga's history as well. It may go unsaid that Gonzaga is changing rapidly. Even after returning to campus after a year abroad, the changes are undeniable. Gonzaga is becoming alive with a new buzz and life that was not here even as a freshman in 2007.

To name a few changes, Spike's is now open 24 hours on the weekends and they deliver pizza, in place of Pandini's we have Panda Express and Zagmail is now on Gmail. Beyond this past year, we also have a new dorm building, baseball complex, soccer field, nursing building and Paccar, Gonzaga's first certified green building. These changes may seem simple and cosmetic, but they are just the beginning.

In the past, Gonzaga has held, perhaps, too steadfast to its traditional demeanor and is now just beginning to peel off those layers and emerge into the light of the 21st century. For years, Gonzaga has remained small and focused on offering a traditional education, bubbling with the potential of Ignation ideals to be a university of change and action. Though this focus has clearly been successful and offered many Zags a quality education and collegiate experience, this sense of tradition has not given Gonzaga the opportunity to come into the light of today until not too long ago.

Each year for the past few years, Gonzaga has brought in a record number of freshmen. This is not only a sign of a growing university, but also a sign of students' desire to attend Gonzaga. In just the past four years, Gonzaga has brought the environmental science concentration to a major, added a writing track to the English program, and revamped the psychology major.

This past fall Gonzaga also has made history by inaugurating its first lay president. These are clearly new and exciting times for Gonzaga. All these changes are helping bring Gonzaga into the 21st century and establish itself a premier Jesuit institution. Gonzaga is responding to the demands of modern students and what we seek for and need in a university.

Through these changes, it is apparent that Gonzaga is becoming more accessible in providing more academic options and on-campus conveniences. These changes have also given students more arenas to learn and voice their opinion.

Students seem to be grabbing hold of the Jesuit beliefs in social justice and exercising the potential of these ideals, all resulting in a more proactive and thoughtful student body. Now, more than in recent years, the student body seems more proactive. Students are standing up for what they believe and Gonzaga is listening. This action was apparent with October's Day of Justice held in response to the Westboro Baptist Church visit to  campus and even last year's student protest to the banning of "The Vagina Monologues." Though the outcome differed for the Vagina Monologues, the student voice was not ignored.

It cannot be denied, however, that with growth does come challenge. With a higher enrollment, Gonzaga must meet registration needs and housing needs. The biggest challenge of all will be learning to balance Jesuit tradition with the fast-paced environment of the now. Gonzaga appears dedicated, however, to evolving and becoming a prominent 21st century university while still maintaining Jesuit ideals of social justice and truth.

At his inauguration, Thayne McCulloh stated how this university is a place becoming and an institution that recognizes the challenges we have and works hard at tackling them. This statement has never seemed clearer than in these past few years at Gonzaga.

Perhaps it is time to take a step back and look at the becoming environment in which we are being educated and how these are the years that Gonzaga is becoming more and more, well, Gonzaga