I did not think I was going to attend the University of Idaho. I applied on a whim.
I didn”t know where Moscow was or what kind of school I wanted to attend, so I applied to a bunch of colleges to see what happened. There were plenty of great options in my home state of Washington, but when I visited Moscow and started comparing the number of students to faculty, I knew that UI was the best fit for me.
Tess Fox
Argonaut
Many of the schools on my list had more than 20,000 students attending. The University of Washington has almost 45,000 students. I realized I wanted a smaller campus with fewer people. In talking with students, faculty, staff and alumni, one thing is clear – they came to UI for the Vandal family. I can attest that students search for this because I am one of them. I wanted a school where professors knew my name, where I could find leadership roles immediately, a place with many opportunities to grow and build my resume.
The Argonaut is a great example of that. Because we have a small staff of editors, I was able to reach a leadership position with barely a semester of experience as a member of the regular staff. This would have been impossible at a larger school. My friends studying journalism at larger schools are still staff writers, while I”m looking to gain another editor position with even more responsibility.
After I graduate, I know I will make a stronger candidate for a position in journalism because of the leadership foundation I started building as an underclassman.
At UI, there are so many opportunities for students to get involved and ways to build resumes. At a larger school, these chances could shrink. By doubling enrollment, UI could lose so many features that are selling points to students and faculty.
UI President Chuck Staben wants to increase enrollment by 50 percent. That means this modest campus will have around 15,000 students crawling around.
Can Moscow handle another 5,000 residents? Overcrowding becomes a bigger problem every year, especially with another university so close. Washington State University has almost 29,000 students. During holiday weekends, visiting moms and dads often have to book a hotel in Moscow, Lewiston and Spokane.
There would have to be massive amounts of construction on and off campus to accommodate the extra people if UI increases enrollment by 50 percent. Hotels, apartments, dorms, more classrooms and way more parking would all have to be added to Moscow. Are local businesses and chains prepared to expand? I don”t think so.
Unless Moscow is prepared to accommodate 5,000 more people, an increase in enrollment needs to be reconsidered.
Tess Fox can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @tesstakesphotos