When walking across campus, it’s easy to do two things: be swept away by the architectural beauty of the university and see the diversity of students who call Syracuse University their home. There’s no argument that most students are undergraduates — the school’s statistics back that up. However, SU is not only home to undergraduates, but also to hundreds of graduate and postgraduate students. 

Unlike their undergraduate counterparts, graduate students are, for the most part, ignored socially. Many students feel that you’re an afterthought if you are not an undergraduate student, especially in a pandemic that encourages social isolation. 

Why are graduate students — be they masters or doctorate candidates — not seriously considered socially like undergrads when it comes to campus-wide university events? Is it age? Academic level? For some students, perspective may play a role.

What makes someone a “student” for one group may be a completely different definition to another. For Ziyi Chen, a rising senior studying economics and data analysis, undergraduate students may not view graduate students as their peer. 

“I think when someone tells you ‘Oh, I’m a graduate student,’ we automatically think, ‘I don’t know that they’re not superior to us,” Chen said.

For some graduate students, being seen as someone who wants to socialize outside of the classroom is lost among undergraduates on campus. Khira Fryar, an undergraduate and graduate alumna of SU, was able to keep some social ties after becoming a graduate student, but social experiences were not as accessible.

“Everything about student life is really catered to undergrads, so it leaves graduate students looking for a place,” Fryar said.

The social displacement leaves graduate students looking for a community, Fryar said. A sense of community can stem from individuals with similar racial or cultural identities and life experiences, but it also can come from feeling welcomed by the student community at large.

Ricardo Sanchez, a fifth-year student studying industrial and interactive design, said graduate students have the same social opportunities as undergraduate students outside of the classroom. 

“I’m pretty sure that grad students are offered all of the same events and activities that undergrads are offered for the most part,” Sanchez said.

There’s also a stigma against graduate students due to their age, said Andre Britton, a part-time graduate student studying social work. Most organizations plan events with only undergraduates in mind, he said.

“I feel like grad students, they come on campus, and then they leave campus. There’s not much there for them to interact with,” he said. 

Graduate students should not be viewed differently from undergraduates when it comes to social activities. Every event should include an open invitation for all students, and undergraduates and graduate students alike should participate.

The Office of Student Activities and student clubs must remember that graduate students are students, too. They should be as quickly thought of as undergraduates, and these groups should expand their event and club offerings for graduate students. Leaving graduate students to the side is not the answer, openly including them is. 

Especially in a time of social isolation, expanded social opportunities are needed to prevent graduate students from feeling alone and to let them know they are more than welcome on campus. Life experience and age should not be social hindrances, but rather opportunities for us all to learn, build communities and make more significant connections.

Published on August 24, 2020 at 9:04 pm