The Trials and Tribulations of Saint Louis University Students

During the last week of August, Saint Louis University students were experiencing their first full week of classes. As the semester got underway, interviews were conducted with random Saint Louis University students to see what they believed were the biggest problems that the university was facing.

Following a rather difficult year last year, there was a sense of hope in the air from Saint Louis University administrators about the upcoming school year. However, there were still some students who seemed hesitant and believed there were more improvements the university could make. Students were weighing in with what they thought Saint Louis University could improve on and solutions they would like to see implemented.

Grace Wilken (She/her/hers)

Senior

Major: Psychology

For Wilken, as a former Resident Advisor, Saint Louis University needed to improve on listening to their students and hearing about their real experiences. Wilken had a negative experience last year as she worked in a building that tragically lost one of its residents. All the while dealing with normal college issues, Wilken was helping residents who were suffering with their mental health. She attempted to go to the head of housing and explain to them that resident advisors need more help, but it was an unsuccessful attempt.

“I went and spoke with the head of housing and residence life to explain that I had in the past week helped three residents in mental health crises and that students were struggling. I tried to explain to them that we needed a better system to not only train RAs in crisis response but also let them know when a crisis is occurring so we can best help our residents. The head of housing and residence life told me that’s not what they were seeing in the reports and discredited my statement. Then we continued to be in a crisis because SLU only chose to listen to their “Yes Men” students as opposed to the whole student body.”

In terms of improvements, since she met with the head of housing and residence life back in September of 2021, Wilken had not seen many. According to her, housing and residence life still did not have a supportive environment for their Ras, which Wilken believed was a crucial necessity because “how can I help my residents in hard times when I do not feel like I have anyone to talk to.” Wilken mentioned that the lack of response went against the universities’ mission of “Cura Personalis: for its students. “The main problem we face as students at SLU is the knowledge that you are never thoroughly cared for because no one power is listening. So, promoting Cura Personalis as a value of the university is the furthest from what students are experiencing. The only way this part of the mission can be accomplished is if administrators start listening to us.“

Nora Smith (she/her/hers)

Junior

Major: Occupational Therapy

As an Oriflamme leader on campus, who worked with first-year students, Smith was adamant about telling her first-year students to make their mental health a priority and use the University Counseling Center as a resource. “I try to normalize seeking help for your mental health as much as possible. I realize that for some people, it is taboo, so I like to talk about it to let students know they are not alone and it is completely normal to need to go talk to someone.” Although Smith had a positive experience with the counseling center, she knew that it had some issues, and she credited these issues as being one of SLU’s biggest problems.

“The counseling center does not have enough staff. Therefore students often have to wait to get in and get switched counselors, which takes away that consistency that students need. Also, the counselors we do have could be more diverse to meet different needs of students.”

Smith explained that other organizations on campus, such as campus ministry and academic support, have offered students a safe space to come and talk if they ever need to. Smith thought this was a good idea for some students. She did not want their promotion to take away from when students needed professional help. “Campus Ministry has some great people to talk to, but they are not trained to help people with long-time issues. Although this is a good idea for some, this can not be the solution to the counseling center’s problem. The university needs to devote more money to expanding the counseling center, but also promoting counseling centers. I think a good solution, for now, would be if people from the counseling center went to first-year Ignite seminar courses, so they are being promoted to all students.”

Elise Pinsonneault (she/her/hers)

Senior

Major: Sociology

Minor: Human Resources

“Slu is just not accessible. If students need accommodations for either food, religion, or physical needs, they have to go out of their way to get them. It’s hard to do. The Center for Accessibility and Disability Resources process is hard and lengthy. People with mental health struggles have a hard time doing the steps to get accommodations because it is physically and mentally exhausting for them. And when it comes to physical needs, some of the buildings on campus, like housing and classrooms, are not accessible to people. They contain hard-to-reach ramps, and still, some classrooms are downstairs.”

As Pinsonneault recounted her biggest issue with SLU as its inaccessibility, she described how a friend of hers was on crutches and was unable to get to their seat in one of the lecture halls. Also, Elise explained that many students failed to receive housing accommodations that allowed them to prepare their food to stay in accordance with their religious beliefs.

The only improvement that Pinnsonneault had seen since her freshman year was that the Center for Accessibility had more resources for students such as specific coaches for different learning disabilities and sensory rooms. She believed that on-campus housing and food providers could step up their game.

“On-campus dining needs to become more aware of religious holidays and be prepared to not contaminate food for individuals. Housing and other buildings on campus need to implement more elevators. If you live in the Griesedieck complex and you have a disability, and your friend lives on the lower level floors of Walsh, you can’t go visit them. Those floors are only accessed by the stairs.” In her concluding thoughts, Pinnsonneault was, however, optimistic. “I think progress is on its way, but it is going to take away for all the systems to be accessible together.”

Laura Hopkins

Sophomore

Major: Biochemistry

Minor: Biology

As a sophomore student at Saint Louis University, Hopkins viewed Saint Louis Universities’ biggest issue as students were taken advantage of by housing during their second year. “Almost all sophomore students are consistently given their 4th or 5th pick for housing their sophomore year. These same students are then denied when requesting housing changes. If a student does receive a housing change request, they have had to go to hell and high water to get it.”

Hopkins, who was placed in Marguerite Hall, stated that this housing placement had been an inconvenience in their life “I am a STEM student, which means all my classes are on the other side of campus. I have a huge walk every day to classes, and if I forget something, I am doomed. I also am put on a time restraint because if I stay out too late, I have to have someone walk me back to my dorm. This has just put unnecessary stress on my life.”

While Hopkins had seen no change in housing with these issues, they believed a great solution would be to put people in housing based on their major that way; everyone would be near where they would most likely have class.

Sarah Erickson (she/hers/hers)

Senior

Majors: Chemistry, Classical Humanities, & Greek and Latin Languages and Literatures

After being a Resident Advisor for the past three years, Erickson had dealt with many issues facing students, but she said nothing compared to the issues with the meal plan that Saint Louis University provided. Erickson was continually frustrated with the meal plan as she explained that for sophomores and resident advisors, the meal plan was not enough, and housing had thus far refused to increase it.

“Most students that are not first-years are given Block 125; which is only two full meals and $4.20 a day. This does not give people enough brain power to get through the day. Also, many on-campus dining options close early which makes it difficult for people who work or have a late class to get food. The ability to get food off campus is also tough and can be like a 2-hour ordeal if they have to take the metro to Target in Brentwood.”

According to Erickson, many Resident Advisors have been very vocal about the lack of food on campus with no success. They have not only asked for more money in the meal plan but also better and more diverse food options on campus. All of which, Erickson has seen no progress with from the university. “I know that the problem can be fixed, and I will know when it is fixed when I and other students do not have to wake up and worry about how we are getting our two full meals that day.”