Many decisions are made daily at Marquette about where limited financial resources should be allocated and I acknowledge it is impossible for every program to be continued indefinitely. However, Marquette's suspension of the South African Service Learning Program was a major misstep — one of "Gold" proportions.
The South Africa Service Learning Program provided an excellent opportunity to accomplish many of the institution's goals at once.
One of the key components of the university's vision is a focus on "global education." Providing students with options for education in the context of being members of a global community is vital for Marquette. The South African experience was often cited as the penultimate example of combining global education and Jesuit values.
It is also important to note that African issues have come to the forefront on campus in the recent year and a half. Students have become actively involved in a variety of programs — ranging from the Paul Rusesabagina keynote address during Mission Week to ongoing human rights initiatives and petitions to stop the genocide in Darfur. I would hate to see the positive changes made negated by the message that Marquette sent with the suspension of this program.
Other academic opportunities in Africa — the Les Aspin and College of Nursing's programs in Kenya, for example — are limited in terms of the number of students who can experience them. The South Africa Service Learning Program helped to remedy this and signified Marquette's long-term commitment to the continent.
While this program may continue to require significant funding in these crucial start-up years, I would like to point to the Les Aspin Center's substantial capital requirements in the past. Today, the Les Aspin Center is a marquee program for the university, much as the South African program could be in a few short years. Recently, I received a request for a donation from University Advancement. The line at the top of the flier said this: "Do you ever wonder what your life or the lives of your family or friends would be like if it were not for Marquette?" Consider how many people in South Africa would be able to answer this question if we continued this important program.
Marquette University stands at an important crossroads today. The national — and international — reputation of the school has grown significantly in recent years and the value of a Marquette degree is greater than ever before. The value of my Marquette education in terms of dollars and cents is insignificant compared to its value to me in terms of heart and soul.
Marquette's leaders must ask themselves this question: Do we want to be a community that merely says "Be the difference" or a community that empowers our students to go out and actually be the difference in our world?
Hermanny is the former president of Marquette Student Government, the Academic Senate Undergraduate Student Representative 2005-'06, and an alumnus of the College of Arts & Sciences.