This article is a companion piece to the regular "Your World Today" commentary. As the academic year nears its end, The Slate transitions from one Editor-in-Chief to another. Read incoming 2025-2026 EIC Jayden Pohlman's piece here.

I hate clichés.

Time flies. Opposites attract. And around here, one cliché reigns supreme — Ship Happens. So, in my final column, a reflection on all the Ship that has happened to me and a warning for the future.

Since Aug. 19, 2021, SU has been my home. McCune Hall gave me my best friends and the support I needed to become a Student Ambassador and Resident Assistant. Seavers Hall helped me become a mentor, and Lackhove taught me how to step away from an unhealthy environment.

Spending four years in the communication, journalism and media department has been spent with the most underappreciated and passionate group of academics around. I will miss the lessons I have learned in and out of the classroom, particularly from the old man himself, Dr. Michael Drager.

But some of my proudest moments have been showing off everything our campus has to offer. I have given over 100 campus tours and worked three summers of orientation. I have not just taken advantage of what SU has to offer; I have prioritized supporting our next generation of Raiders.

But my love for SU has always driven my persistence to criticize it when necessary, and I have concerns.

I have seen a president who praises a transparent administration but refuses to provide the student body any information about the sudden resignation of our provost.

I have seen desperately needed faculty searches fail because of administrative incompetence and feet dragging.

I’ve seen a member of our administration ask me not to contact them again for using direct quotes in a story.

I’ve seen students take on excessive responsibilities because of incompetence in their administrative supervisors. 

I’ve seen entire departments make policy decisions based on so-called student needs while ignoring the voices of students they employ.

But the cracks are deeper than our administration. As I wrote back in November 2023, this campus is overrun with apathy. 

We have an SGA president elected by 49 votes and saw a ballot just this month that included seven positions without candidates. Years of SGA members cycle in and out, making claims about what they’ll improve, only to leave while the norm remains.

Far too much of our student body is simply not invested in the institutions that preserve our campus culture.

Our Activities Programming Board has scaled back its large-scale events, and Housing and Residence Life has encouraged Resident Assistants to cater events to build connection on a more intimate scale.

Some of these changes are meant to align with a post-Covid student body, but only so much can be done to connect with students who simply do not care. Far too many of my peers use anxiety as a defense mechanism to stay in their rooms, avoiding any environment where they may feel temporarily uncomfortable.

All institutions deal with fluctuating admin and staff, but the students are consistently the lifeblood of a campus and its culture, especially here at SU — ignore the bureaucracy and “BS” to keep Ship Happening.

Shippensburg University has changed my life, but it is far from ideal.

I keep thinking of 2024’s Alumni Weekend, when I met dozens of former Raiders, many celebrating 50 years since graduation.

I wish I was leaving this institution with hopes of someday returning for my own 50-year anniversary, but I’m not.

I’ll be shocked if we make it to 20.

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