Students To NEASC: ‘We Love CCSU’
September 26, 2018
Day two of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges’ open forums Tuesday invited students and alumni to speak on behalf of Central Connecticut’s accreditation. Though the group of students participating turned out to be small, barely making up two tables, their message was big and loud.
“I’ve come to love Central more than I ever thought I would,” Armando Osario, a sophomore social work major, told the committee. She explained that though CCSU had not been her first choice, it had become the best one. “I got involved [here] and I love it. I love how much Central has to offer.”
That fondness for the university echoed from student to student as they took turns passing around a microphone to speak to the committee, which was composed of Chunju Chen from Salem State University; David Espinosa from Rhode Island College; Michael Kneeland from the University of Massachusetts in Worcester; Daniel Reagan from the University of New Hampshire; Sharron Scott from Northern Vermont University; Kara Turner from Morgan State University; Jeannine Uzzi from the University of Southern Maine; Michael Young from Bridgewater State University; and Jacqueline Moloney, the committee chair, from the University of Massachusetts in Lowell.
Jamie Bonito, a junior double-majoring in marketing and management, said she came to CCSU thinking she “wouldn’t have a good college experience” as a commuter. Like Osario, Bonito explained that CCSU had not been her first choice, having applied solely for the financial affordability. But after getting involved on-campus and getting the opportunity to study in Ireland through the university, Bonito said she “did not regret [her] choice whatsoever.”
“[Studying abroad] was an incredible experience that I probably wouldn’t have been able to do if I went somewhere else financially,” Bonito stated. “I’ve highly recommended Central to family and friends.”
For Student Government Association President Kassandra Fruin, a political science major, Central had been the plan from the beginning. She expressed to the committee that CCSU has given her the path to higher-education she never thought she’d have because of her background.
“College didn’t look like something I had the privilege of going to. Coming here meant a lot to me,” Fruin said.
“Central really became a place where I could stay and feel comfortable and work things out,” she went on. “Central is not just a strong-knit community. It’s a home.”
The SGA’s Treasurer Kristina DeVivo, who double-majors in political science and sociology, shared her opinion that, in addition to CCSU being a community on-campus, it’s strong in keeping in touch with the neighborhood beyond its borders.
“President [Dr. Zulma] Toro has done an amazing job in connecting New Britain with Central and people feel comfortable going downtown. It’s amazing,” she said.
When asked by the committee, students vocalized some of the challenges of being a CCSU student. DeVivo recalled her concussion last year. Though she lauded the university for all of the support and accommodations it provided her, she said that CCSU’s Counseling Services, to whom she’d gone for help after her concussion, was “understaffed,” posing a danger to students who needed it.
“I had a traumatic experience to get me into counseling. Students don’t need to be in a certain category—either suicidal or have trauma—to get counseling on campus,” DeVivo stated.
James Angelopoulos, double majoring in history and Arabic, spoke on academic challenges, citing his experience of being in a class with a late-hire adjunct professor who was not an expert in the subject. He did, however, then say that CCSU had “100 percent” taken his feedback in his course evaluation and reassigned the professor to her area of expertise, adding that he felt listened to.
Despite the obstacles, the students in attendance concurred that CCSU is striving to be as supportive of its students as possible, with Osario voicing the last comment on the matter.
“Let’s be real, we’re not the best school ever, but Central tries really hard. Central does a lot for its students,” she said.
