Here at the “Decaturian,” we are dedicated to being a voice for the student body. This includes every student who attends Millikin, whether they are on campus or not. As a student newspaper, it is our job to be the voice of others. 

It is our job to report and showcase stories that are happening to Millikin and its students. It is our job as journalists to become an outlet for others to speak through, and every thought and opinion that students feel is valid and important. This includes the forgotten students. 

Millikin is a divided campus. Anyone who is a student here can probably get at least some glimpse as to why this campus is so divided. 

It is a small campus in a small town, but in this small campus, there is a lot of emphasis put on organizations and majors that only make up a portion of this school. This campus heavily endorses Greek Life and the School of Theatre and Dance. What about all of the other students who do not make up this population?

I, too, have felt some alienation from Millikin because of my major and organizations I am in. So much emphasis is put on the School of Theatre and Dance that this is one of the biggest things talked about at this school. 

Granted, Millikin is known to be a big performing arts school, but for those who are not in those majors, they are not thought about. Underneath the theatre department and the fraternities and sororities, there are other students who feel like they are isolated and not included because they are not a part of these groups. 

Even some of those students who are in these organizations feel lonely as well.

Millikin is extremely dedicated to Performance Learning. We all have heard about Performance Learning since we were freshmen. Performance Learning is what Millikin does, and while it seems like it is doing a good job of preparing students for after college and giving them more experience, it isolates the majors and puts them in their own sphere that does not associate with other majors. 

The theatre majors hang out with the theatre majors. The athletes hang out with their teammates. The nursing majors hang out with the nursing majors, and so on. This is what Performance Learning can do. It does not allow for students to go outside their major sphere. Everyone wants to stay in their own bubble. 

There are cliques and groups that only associate with their members, and this is why the campus is so divided. Our Milli-Bubble has popped and turned into individual bubbles that are not in unity. Not only has this bubble popped, but half of the students are forced to live at The Woods, which disconnects students even more from campus. 

We are locked away in our circles without a key. Students feels isolated. They feel the pressure to perform for their major, and they feel disconnected. They feel like they can’t be human, that they can only be the Performance Learning robots that go along with everything that Millikin shoves down everyone’s throats. They feel alone.

But you are not alone in feeling this way. The forgotten students are not forgotten about anymore. Your feelings matter, and you are now heard. Your voice is heard, and this forgotten percentage of the student body will not be left behind in the cliques and the bliss of new renovations for majors that do not include us. 

Millikin has this facade that the campus is unified as one, but behind that facade are lonely students who feel like they don’t belong and are not included. 

This issue is bigger than just the cliques. This issue is daunting, and the answers are hidden away behind the Millikin mask. In order to lift this mask, students need to be heard. Change doesn’t happen overnight, but it can happen if we start the conversation and bring this issue to light. 

To the forgotten students, you are heard. Know that your life and your feelings matter. You do not have to feel alone anymore because there are other students who feel the same way you do. Your voices are heard. You are not forgotten about.