CNU Students Share Opinion on the Statement, 'CNU puts its students first'

As a proclaimed focus of all Christopher Newport University decisions & policies, students do not feel that their needs are being met

Students lounging on the Great Lawn at Christopher Newport University. Photo: Savannah Dunn, savannah.dunn.21@cnu.edu

At the first President’s Speaker Series Event of the school year, Chancellor Paul Trible spoke on the process of transforming Christopher Newport University into what stands before students, parents, faculty, and staff today. Chancellor Trible spoke on the decision making process for various policies and actions, stating that the driving force behind each decision was the students and the best way to put them first. It would appear, however, that not all students feel that the CNU has successfully put students first. 

There are students who feel that CNU acts as a business first. Junior Nicolette Christensen stated: “I think at the end of the day CNU is another corporation and corporations are about making money. I’m sure they care about us to some extent, but I don’t think we’re the first priority.” 

Seniors Jen Blyler and Inayah Kurshid agreed that CNU puts money ahead of its students. “I don’t think that CNU really cares that much about the students; they see it as a business,” Blyler said. 

However, Blyler and Kurshid agreed that the professors at CNU show immense care for their students. “[The professors] truly do want what's best for the students and because it's a small school they are able to have more of an individual relationship with each student,” Kurshid said. 

It seemed that praise for professors extends past upperclassmen. Having only been on campus for a month, freshmen seemed to have noticed the exceptional attention that CNU’s professors give to their students. Freshman Evan Anderson commented, “I feel like a lot of the professors really have the student’s best interest at heart.”

Freshman Luke Steffey feels that the attention of the professors extended beyond academic success. “I feel like the professors in classes are checking up on you often…to make sure that you as a student are in the best shape you can possibly be. Meetings with your core advisors help a lot,” Steffey said. 

Despite the strides taken by professors, students still think that more can be done on an administrative level. Sophomore Ian Karst said: “I have a feeling if any of the higher ups  came and lived in what we do, not saying it’s awful, but it’d be kind of like a culture shock. My AC didn’t work all last year, and they did not fix it. Our mirror was about to fall off, and they won’t come fix it…The actual places we’re in 99% of the time are questionable sometimes.” 

CNU facilities like the Office of Counseling Services and the Center for Academic Success are resources in place to help students during their time on campus. However, not all offices have succeeded in the eyes of Senior Kaylen Griles. “I feel like they can do a lot more to support student with housing issues, financial issues, occurrences on campus…I feel like they could do a lot more to support us,” Griles said.

Senior Leslie Bond also felt that on-campus resources fell short. “Despite having a bunch of systems in place that are supposed to support students, I think, in practice, they aren’t all executed super well,” Bond said. 

Christine Bowser, a graduate student in the MAT program, found that, in her time at CNU, campus faced issues with diversity. Bowser recalled the summer of 2020 when the student body received an email from then-President Paul Trible. “Paul Trible put out a statement about his son’s store getting robbed, rather than mentioning about how black lives were being murdered in the streets. I think that shows a lack of compassion…and, since he represents the University, that really struck a chord with me because, as a black student here, it felt like I wasn’t heard, like the issues in my community weren’t being heard,” Bowser said. 

Most students felt that the University had much more to do to fulfill their statement “CNU puts its students first.” While professors have shown immense care for their students, the administrative side of the University is falling short. Sophomore Ashleigh Kraemer said, “Christopher Newport really cares about their image, but they don’t actually care about what’s going on behind the scenes.”