To the Editor:
I enjoyed Jen Malcom’s column on the 200 Nights program. We have a 200 Nights event at Manhattan College. Though ours is much less fancy and costly than a senior cruise, we too regularly struggle with defining a “true senior” and accommodating all entitled seniors at events both economically and with some manner of entertainment other than alcohol.
To define a senior by credit hours neglects the 21+ students who, below the defined number of courses, are certainly seniors in a sense. To simply say a senior for purposes of the socials is someone 21 years or older certainly excludes younger senior-status students unfairly.
Accommodating both groups makes programming a successful event considerably more difficult, and often much more expensive. Last year, the issue even created tension between the two groups at our campus as to who the “real seniors” were, if you can believe that!
I encourage you to explore the issue further, and perhaps find an effective way of handling it – a practical approach would help many American colleges and universities.
Sincerely,
Christopher Nooney Student Body President Manhattan College
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