Santa Clara’s New Year’s Resolutions

The university has critical goals to achieve this upcoming quarter

If I could afford a pressed juice cleanse every week and make healthy habits a New Year’s resolution, I would. Santa Clara can afford to solve the following issues, and should utilize their large endowment to do so.

There are some goals and resolutions that are attainable for Santa Clara, so they must be pursued. Based on the past quarter and my time attending this school, I believe that Santa Clara must prioritize transparency and proactively support their students.

Resolution #1 - Act on Promises & Actively Listen to the Student Body

After the tragedies of fall quarter, including a horrifying number of sexual assault allegations and multiple student deaths, Santa Clara has finally committed to allocating several million dollars to mental health services on campus. This promise is such important progress for the school. Now, their resolution for this year and years to come should be to act on these commitments. 

Of course, it takes time to adequately fund services, but it's been a month since the university announced their commitment. I believe we should be updated more frequently on the status of this commitment and hear more about the details of the money that will be allocated to on-campus mental health services because some programs or services take longer to implement.

Santa Clara should continue to include student voices in the conversation about mental health. Creating a committee of student leaders and faculty on campus involved with the allocation of money put toward mental health services will foster a more reliable sense of trust toward administration. The more receptive our administration is to student ideas, the more progress we can make on resolving the mental health crisis that our school experienced last quarter.

There is more to be done. Now that Omicron has students stuck in their dorms or off-campus residences, they cannot socialize in common areas on campus in groups more than four. Mental health services are again critical for the wellness of our community. It is essential that Santa Clara continues to act on the commitment to mental health, because all that happened last quarter did not disappear with the New Year.

Listening to students and their needs for the rest of the year and acting on the promises made will make this quarter feel more enjoyable and make this resolution achievable. Therefore, students continuing to reach out to administration or even contacting members of the Associated Student Government will pressure Santa Clara to make the changes that are necessary.

Resolution #2 - Standardize COVID Protocols 

Santa Clara was successful last quarter keeping infection rates to a minimum while conducting in-person learning. Yet, the Omicron variant has proven to be another obstacle to students and professors wanting to re-enter the classroom.

Zoom learning is inherently unlikable: distractions increase, socialization decreases and increased screen time and Zoom fatigue makes learning a burden for many. In addition, administration “encouraging” professors to conduct online classes isn’t enough direction. Some students were not sure if their classes would be in-person until the weekend before the first day of classes, and it has yet to be confirmed if we will return to in-person learning after Jan. 30.

Santa Clara should have given more notice about the potential of online classes earlier during winter break. The course of Omicron infections are predictable; thus, the response to it should have been too.

Consequently, Santa Clara should make the resolution to be more clear and concise about their decisions regarding the Omicron variant. Protocols for vaccines, mandatory testing and shelter in place have already benefited the community. More uniform direction about the upcoming trajectory for the quarter is essential.

Resolution #3 - Meeting Students Halfway

Santa Clara is asking that we get tested before arriving at school, twice during the first week, and receive a booster vaccine. Thus, I think our school should be meeting us halfway and provide some additional support to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

This could look like reimbursing the price for at-home tests or travel costs to get a booster shot once students return to campus. Continuously providing N95 masks to all professors, students and staff will provide proactive support that is critical for this upcoming quarter.

These goals are the minimum standard for bettering Santa Clara this year, so this should be a main focus for administration for the rest of this year. There are, of course, areas of academics and professionalism that Santa Clara strives for improvement in every year, yet it is apparent that we as a community have been lacking in critical ways. Thus, we cannot afford to not fail at these resolutions. The course of last quarter cannot be repeated.

Unfortunately, 96% of those that set New Year’s resolutions at the beginning of each year fail to succeed after six months. I hope to finish this academic year to see that Santa Clara has not fallen victim to this statistic. These issues are fixable — as long as Santa Clara strives to make the changes necessary.