CMU looks ‘pretty’ on the outside but internally there is a lot of work to be done. Yet instead there seems to be a focus on growth and not keeping their current students or meeting their needs…

The parking garage threatening student organizations was a massive slap to the face and broke the trust/image that this school cares for its students and its orgs that make campus life. Furthermore to propose a parking garage AND THEN another residential building to ENCOURAGE more students therefore putting the whole campus back at square one for parking issues was also… the most ridiculous thing to listen to. Appalling. An insult to every student on campus and to future students interested in CMU. This is the second time ASG has been pressured (at least that I’ve seen) by the board of trustees (it was with Jared Taylor incident pressuring them to get involved for the sake of student safety due to the worry over student protests and now pressuring ASG to hurriedly make a decision about the parking garage) which is so offensive. They do not deserve to be treated like a meat shield… not to mention that at least half or 2/3rds of senate are people of color and the pressure they have to handle from the board of trustees that normally goes against what students on campus want… an unhealthy and toxic abuse of power…

If CMU is going to be ‘radically’ affordable at the expense of their own current students then by NO means will I be recommending this school let alone wanting to stay (I’m very close to graduating…). I came to this school yes because it was affordable but I had to take time off and only came back because of the relationships I had built through student orgs, small classes, and the amazing professors and program that doesn’t get enough support…

Furthermore it is disgusting that John Marshall will speak out about Kirk but not about the horrors happening in Gaza, how our campus is tied to that, our involvement, AND the ice

shootings… nothing has been heard… its disgusting and shows he doesn’t care about the students that make up the diversity on campus. Instead it feels like we’re all token minorities here to make the school look ‘diverse’…

If you want to be committed to a better school, focus on the needs of your current students instead of growth. Pace your growth… Listen to the students that are racially diverse and speak for them too… You can speak about Kirk and ICE shootings yanno… you’d look ridiculous but I mean it’d be supporting every students… I’m only proud of the program I will be graduating from not the school… i would only recommend this school for it’s finances and warn about all the internal mishaps…

Also the way Dr. Miller’s case was handled and how it represents professors being limited on how they teach because it’s labeled ‘woke’ or ‘unpatriotic’ is also disgusting… college is about learning the history and perspectives that aren’t taught in public education because the curriculum is controlled and limited. In higher academia it shouldn’t be limited…

The support students get within CMU is also… mixed. While financially there is support available, when it comes to students mental health or disability I personally feel there isn’t much support. When I was concussed and my doctor said to drop assignments I brought that to EAS and they said that can’t be done… I get it there are admin and bureaucratic systematic barriers in place. Just admit that instead of saying oh we can help you past these because in reality you didn’t. I had to finish school with my concussion and not with a ton of help from EAS but mostly from my doctors, physical therapist, and my actual therapist (not affiliated with the wellness center) hounding EAS. Furthermore I got more help from my professors than with EAS when I was concussed too… Just say you can’t help me instead of dangling false hope. When I was depressed everyone encouraged me to keep going when what I really needed was to stop and

take a break. I would only see a wellness therapist once every other week and sometimes once a month when in reality I needed multiple times a week. The wellness center I’ve heard is still not the best place to go for mental health due to not helpful providers, not having enough providers, and not having enough availability to accommodate students in need. This is terrifying to think about with the lack of mental health in Mesa County and the high suicide rate… Like… could y’all invest more resources here to try and combat the issue?? Instead of slapping a band-aid on it and saying its fine…

This school is so disappointing… please do some work… not towards growth, money and progress, but with a focus on the students here and how to healthily sustain us… like newsflash maybe this would help your disastrous retention, drop out, and graduation rates… have you seen them compared to national averages?? In case ya haven’t let me help, I love calling people out and serving some accountability 🙂

https://www.collegefactual.com/colleges/mesa-state-college/academic-life/graduation-and-retention/#retention

here’s my source, it’s three years old unfortunately but it does rely on statistics from the national center for education.

In 2023 CMU had a slight more than average retention rate for freshman, at 75% (yippee congrats and I mean that genuinely actually). However that’s when the rates go down. Graduation at the 4, 6, and 8 year marks are all less than nationwide average hovering around 30 ish percent… Instead most of the student body didn’t complete their degrees, with many transferring or dropping out and perhaps not coming back… While the data may be a bit old I’ve seen my classes dwindled as soon as I get to 200-300 level classes. I’ve seen the age cohorts on campus and how they’re mostly freshman sophomore… The junior and seniors are smaller even if

they were here the year before. This shows that CMU still struggles with retaining students and should really focus on this issue. Preserving students and acknowledging their importance will have lasting impacts. The work that alumni from my program does is amazing and I have no doubt its amazing for other programs too. So invest in your students instead of having a lopsided model where your focus is on one age cohort year and year…