As the Shippensburg University community settles in for another semester of classes there is a mutual and brooding memory of 2016 and its endless headaches and heartaches.
A month ago headlines from around the world captured this sentiment, like Al Jazeera’s article “2016 has gone to the dogs: Good riddance to a bad year” and PennLive’s recap “16 reasons why 2016 was the worst year ever.”
Many of these articles dive into a lengthy list of celebrities who died and then move on to Brexit, the war in Syria, global climate change and of course — the presidential election. But for SU, 2016 did not end there.
The SU community not only endured the hardships of 2016 like others, but it wrangled with more home-hitting challenges than a celebrity death. The faculty strike was a time of frustration and joy. It took average-day life at SU and flipped it on its head, but it also brought hundreds of faculty and students together in mutual support.
Just as the year was closing another impactful event happened. SU President George “Jody” Harpster announced he would be leaving the university community and silently retired on Jan. 20.
Students have a lot of questions on their minds about 2017. Who will be SU’s next permanent president? Was the faculty strike a signal for the beginning or the end of deeper issues in the State System?
But these questions are hardly the only ones on people’s minds. President Donald Trump is using his first few weeks in office to sign executive orders that affect a range of issues like health care and immigration. People want to know how their lives will change, and how their country will change.
In the coming months students will see how their world will evolve for better or for worse.
The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) is launching a presidential search to hire a new leader at SU. The process could take the whole semester and even spill into the fall.
While eyes are looking toward the future candidates, PASSHE will be working with Gov. Tom Wolf and the state legislature to propose a budget for the next academic year. Hearings and meetings are to take place in the next few weeks, but it will not be until the summer when a budget will be finalized.
The funding PASSHE gets will be a key indicator of how the system’s universities will change. Tuition, new faculty positions, financial aid and future contracts could all be affected.
Some students may be more curious with what is happening in Washington, D.C., than in Harrisburg. Trump is wasting no time in living up to some of his campaign promises. Over the weekend the president signed an executive action to make a plan to defeat the Islamic State. He previously signed orders to begin building a wall on the southern U.S. border, to change the Affordable Health Care Act and a travel ban on seven countries.
These actions could shape the future of the economy, foreign relations and the services offered to Americans.
If 2016 was the worst year then 2017 will be the year of change — whether its good or bad change has yet to be revealed. It is more important now than ever for students to stay current on the news, come together and understand how the world is morphing.
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