By Meagan Ewton
I always imagined that returning to my alma mater would be an emotional experience that brought up happy memories and feelings of nostalgia.
Instead, when I walked the halls of Sinclair Community College last week, I felt a deep longing to return to the school that had taught me so much.
I left Sinclair last spring with two associates degrees under my belt, and I felt ready to take on the world. I had been accepted to a private four-year school in Oklahoma, and I was confident that Sinclair had prepared me for any challenge the academic world could throw at me.
Any challenge, of course, except for high expectations.
Attending Sinclair for two years made me think that all colleges were commuter-friendly, had amazing online learning opportunities and did everything in their power to help their students succeed. Perhaps many of those things were true.
Even so, transitioning from Sinclair to a private university was nothing like I expected.
For one thing, the library was somewhat limited in its scope. My school was not connected with any other libraries in the city or the state. The only tool I had for finding books off campus was an online search engine that would help me find local libraries that might have what I was looking for.
After taking advantage of Sinclair’s OhioLINK partnership–which allowed me to check out books from other libraries and pick them up at Sinclair–I felt like a simple search engine was woefully inadequate.
Another difference I noticed was that my new school required me to sign a petition for policy exception to be a commuter student. Because the university requires students to live in on-campus dorms, I need a commuter code to live off campus, and I must renew that code each school year. I’m sure it’s not unusual for universities to differentiate between student groups, but it was still a shock when my registration was held up until I had that code.
Perhaps the thing I miss the most about Sinclair is the freedom of the press. As a public college, Sinclair’s records are open to the public. Want to look at the Board of Trustees’ meeting minutes? Do a search on Sinclair’s website. Curious about tuition increases? The Clarion can report on them without the school’s explicit permission.
This is not the case at a private university. The student paper at my new school has a review board that reads each and every story before anything gets published in print or online. Rather than be a voice for the students, the paper is pressured to print public relations stories that will make the school look good. If the review board doesn’t like a story, it’s killed before it sees the light of day. And because it’s a private university, it’s perfectly legal.
Maybe you’ve grown tired of hearing this from your teachers and administrators, but please believe me when I say you don’t know how good you have it at Sinclair. For all its faults (and they certainly exist), Sinclair has a lot to offer its students. Take advantage of every opportunity while you can. Believe me, when it comes to Sinclair, you really don’t know what you have until it’s gone.