Viewpoints: My own little year in review

The past year has been wild. As my roommates and I were looking over BuzzFeed’s 45 Most Powerful Images of the Year, we were commenting on 2011′s momentousness.

The revolutions, the riots, the fallen dictators, the natural disasters. It is impossible to know how the history books will comment and spew these news stories. But it is probably safe to say Marquette news from 2011 will not make major history books. Thus, I feel the need to comment– so here are my top 5 Marquette news stories from 2011.

1. We got a new President. Despite some early concern, he is a Jesuit, but he has yet to don a yellow sweater vest. That being said, Fr. Pilarz has started on an excellent foot. Handling many student concerns by sending out regular e-mails and living on the fourth floor of Campus Town East, he has made himself accessible to students. I know he has been down for a lovely dinner chat or an impromptu hello on a walk down Wells. He also really likes Bruce Springsteen, which automatically makes him cool. So far, so good.

2.  We played sports. Pretty well actually. From what I understand as a very casual fan, we played basketball and got a lot of air time, making it to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA March Madness Tournament. I watched some of those– it seemed thrilling. We played even better in men’s soccer, winning the Big East championship. I never went to a game, and for that I am an awful fanatic. The women’s soccer team also had a phenomenal season and the women’s volleyball team are well on their way to a victorious season.

3.  We made 16th and Wells legitimate. Which is to say, Angelos was replaced by the only thing that could ever come close to being sufficient: Sobleman’s at Marquette. It looks nearly the same inside as before, but serves burgers instead of pizza and favors real IDs. I think it is safe to say that not having to cross the 16th Street bridge and walk down those intimidating stairs to get to the best burgers in Milwaukee (no matter what Food Wars says) is a delicious delight.

4. We addressed some issues. Better late than never, I suppose, but still really disappointing that we had to address them at all. Although sexual assault is a far too common crime on college campuses, I personally had always felt Marquette men and women to be upstanding– or at least aware of Jesuit ideals, one of which is Cura Personalis– care of the whole person.  Since the allegations broke, and newspapers nationwide have covered the alleged cover-up of the alleged incident, students, faculty and administration have clearly made efforts to reform our reporting system and our awareness to such crimes. Underclassmen were required to attend a training session, and Fr. Pilarz has sent numerous e-mails and a few Letters to the Editor of some major news sources– including the New York Times. An awful incident in itself, at least there seems to be some commitment to student safety and awareness. Speaking of which,

5.  We got roughed up. The Marquette bubble was deflated a bit this summer, when a rash of campus robberies afflicted our little neighborhood. To address this issue, we are now not allowed to jay-walk. Just kidding. But seriously, we are not allowed to jay-walk, and there has not been an emergency DPS e-mail in a while.

Of course, many other exciting and important events occurred within the Marquette community. But these five incidents each impacted the student body in an significant way.  And while  they may not make any BuzzFeed lists for 2011, its important to acknowledge our own quietly momentous year.