The Brown & White

Graduate students are not a sufficient part of the campus' environment according to the Middle States Accreditation Committee after their recent analysis Lehigh.

Kathleen Hutnik, director of the office of graduate student life, said she thinks the committee's criticism is fair.

"I think they would very much like to be more visible on campus and more a part of it," she said. "On the other hand, they do need a distinct and separate place."

Hutnik said one of the best ways to get graduate students and undergraduate students interacting is through academics.

"People would be interested in opportunities for undergraduate students to get more involved in graduate research and vice versa," she said.

Hutnik said things are beginning to change for graduate students.

"I'm just thrilled we are starting to recognize that graduate students have needs too and we are starting to do something about it," Hutnik said.

Despite the accreditation committees' criticisms, Hutnik said graduate life is improving. She said the office of graduate student life was only created within the last six years, and the Graduate Student Senate's budget was just significantly increased. President Alice Gast has also made a concentrated effort to include graduate students, she said.

Graduate students have their own set of social resources available to them. The Graduate Student Senate sponsors 15 different clubs, ranging from the Argentine Tango Club to the MBA Association to the Thai Student Association.

The office of graduate student life provides a host of services to graduate students. There are yoga lessons, professional development opportunities and even weekly coffee hours in "The Catacombs" under Packer Memorial Chapel.

But not all graduate students feel they need to be a more active part of the Lehigh environment. Christina Ulloa is a student in the masters in elementary education program.

"I think that graduate students have a lot on their plate, and the last thing on their minds is making sure they are involved with undergraduate students," she said. "I know I'm in a completely different mind-set than I was last year, and I just want to graduate, find a job and start a new chapter in my life."

Ulloa said she does attend a few graduate student events, and still spends part of what little free time she has with undergraduate students because she is a member of the dance team. She said frequent hang-outs for many graduate students remain the same as they were for undergraduate students, such as J.P. McGrady's, Starter's Bar & Grill, and Our Beerbelly's.

As for the accreditation committee's criticism, Ulloa said, "I don't know about their criteria for being active, but I know that I don't have enough time with the amount of school work I have to participate in anything other than the dance team."

Jennifer Gonzalez, '08, is entering Lehigh's masters program in environmental policy design next year. She said she thinks many undergraduate students, especially those who received free presidential scholar's fifth years, end up coming back as graduate students.

"You've spent four years at Lehigh and loved it, so if you can be here for free, you find something to use it for," Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez said she was not nervous that many of the people she knew will be gone when she comes back next year, and still knows at least 20 to 25 people who will be returning for a fifth year in one capacity or another.

"I look at it as another year of undergraduate even though my classes will be harder and different," she said.