New Growth Comes with New Challenges at Milligan College

MILLIGAN COLLEGE - Milligan College now has the largest student body filling its classrooms and dorms than ever before.  While the growth of the small school is a great accomplishment, some are concerned about the consequences.

When students go off to college, they need dorms to live in.  With the increase of students, dorm space at Milligan is precious.  This seems to be the main concern of students, campus dwellers and commuters alike.  “Some students have been placed in a study room in the bottom of Webb Hall,” says Junior Theater and Photography major Brennan Tracy, “and I really feel they should be compensated somehow.”  Tracy also went on to say that he is concerned about whom they are placing in the study room and he fears if it were freshman, it could stunt their social growth at Milligan.

            Other concerns have also been voiced in relation to the growth.  Graduate student Kristin Thomas said  “maintaining the community atmosphere and dealing with the different types of people that come onto campus” is an issue.  “The larger the school becomes, the more it will have to work at keeping the personal touch it’s known for.”

            While the schools growth is plaguing many minds, there are also other issues that students and faculty think should be addressed.  Sophomore Bible major Ryan Evans feels like division among groups in the school is also an issue.  Junior Kayla Wilson, leader of the commuter council, also had more to add to the subject, “ I think Milligan should do more to encourage commuters to be a part of the community, such as offering partial meal plans so they can eat lunch in the cafeteria with the other students.” 

            Faculty also has input on what issues are facing Milligan.  Bursar Sue Skidmore said, “I feel like we are doing a good job advertising in the tri-cities as a whole, but we need to be more competitive for local students, especially those in Sullivan County where they have Northeast State, King College, and other schools just over the Virginia line.” 

            Advertising scholarships is also an issue to be addressed.  Skidmore said, “We need to get the word out about scholarships to reduce sticker shock.  Many students think they can’t afford Milligan but most people get enough scholarships to cover a large portion of the tuition.”

            Milligan’s cost for tuition, room and board, and fees is $29,170.

This article was written for Multimedia Journalism