Eckerd College

Responses from the Student Interview

From a student  who identifies as Major: Political Science
Minor: None
Student Self Identifies as: Caucasian Straight Male

Summary

I’m on the Eckerd Senate and I’m also part of ROTC.

Background

Gender Identity: Male
Race/Ethnicity: Caucasian
Sexual Orientation: Straight

High School Experience: Public school in Fort Pierce, FL with a graduating class of about 700 students. There was a culture of going to college with about half of the students and with the other half there was not.
First-Generation College Student: No
Major: Political Science
Minor: None

Extracurricular Activities: I’m on the Eckerd Senate and I’m also part of ROTC.
Have any of your extracurricular activities had a particularly big impact on your experience?
I think that the Senate is a lot of fun. I have to go out and organize community events with the lodges, which are different dorm complexes on campus. I meet a lot of people through those and recognize the importance of that planning.

Academic Experience

Can you describe your weekly coursework for your major?
It’s a lot of essays and reading for Political Science. Right now, I’m taking two Political Science classes and two general education classes and I have about four to five pages of writing per week.
Is there anything you feel your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
In terms of well, they do a good job of assigning really good readings. I haven’t read anything so far where I didn’t understand the point of it. I also think the fluidity of the classes is really good.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
I think a lot of what we do is collaborative. We are encouraged to work together. I had a Political Science professor who encouraged us to work on essays together because political science is all about working together to find a solution.
How accessible are your professors?
Overall, I think they’re accessible. All four of my professors this semester have office hours and we’re encouraged to go in and see them for that. You can show up at their office and talk to them about anything which I think is pretty awesome.
Do you feel people are open to multiple schools of thought in the classroom?
Actually, I do. A lot of people told me that at Eckerd there is one set way of thinking politically and people refer to it as a hippie school, so I was told that there was a Democratic-leaning. I’m an Independent so I was worried that some viewpoints of other students wouldn’t be heard, but I do feel like people are pretty non-judgmental about everything, especially in Political Science. I do feel that at Eckerd the culture is very open to different ideas and viewpoints. Maybe people are more comfortable with liberal views, but I think there is still a level of nonjudgement in the classrooms that I’ve been in. [See The Current article, “Eckerd is liberal towards Trump.”]
Why did you choose your major? Are you happy with your choice?
I chose Political Science because I want to be an attorney and I think that’s the easiest way to get there. I’m really happy with it so far. The classwork is a lot of fun and I like learning about different cultures. I didn’t recognize that Political Science is about learning about other government systems throughout the world, but I’ve been taking some classes on that and it’s been so much fun.
How was transitioning academically freshmen? Are there systems in place that help you transition?
We have an Autumn Term that all freshmen go to where we only take one class that’s designed to give us the course load of what a full schedule would be like. It’s three hours a day Monday-Thursday and it was a pretty rigorous class. Since we focus on just that one class, we could gauge where our shortcomings would be during the first real semester of classes.

Reasons to Attend

1) I believe in a liberal arts education. I think it’s cool to be forced to take different types of classes and open up your mind to all the different areas of study.
2) I think Eckerd’s awesome because of how close it is to everything. St. Petersburg is so open to everything around us.
3) The community at Eckerd is a blast. We have people from all different backgrounds and you’re bound to find somebody to fit in with somewhere. We have lots of cubs that you can join for different types of people too.
4) The pet life on campus. We have been ranked as one of the best colleges for pets. There are dogs everywhere and I’ve seen a lot of snakes on campus.

Reasons Not to Attend

1) There’s an article right now in the Tampa Bay Times about drug use on campus and I don’t see that as a problem, but I do know that there are certain groups at Eckerd that do use drugs a lot. If that is something that worries you, then that would be a reason not to go. But, I have to stay away from that because of my ROTC and I think it’s pretty easy too.
2) Maybe you don’t want to have a liberal arts education and want to have a STEM-specific degree.
3) If you don’t want to be in a very laid-back place where people sometimes don’t wear shoes and there are lots of pets on campus.
4) The financial cost of Eckerd is a huge deal. It’s an expensive school, especially compared to state schools. [Total fees for the 2019-20 school year are about $59,122.]

Around Campus

Where have you lived on and around campus?
Freshman: West Lodge Complex with two roommates
How was transitioning from your hometown to St. Petersburg, FL in terms of location?
I consider them almost to be the same town because they look almost identical. I’m on the other coast of Florida, but since my hometown is also a beach town, they look almost identical and that makes me feel very at home.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
We have security guards who I.D. people trying to get on campus. It makes it hard to bring guests on campus, but it makes me feel better that not just anybody can walk on campus. I have not felt unsafe yet.

Social Opportunities

What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
I’m big on hanging out with friends. Since I’m on ROTC, I can’t party too much but I do know that there are parties going on Fridays and Saturdays. I’ve participated in a couple of the [College Program Series (CPS) events] where you have your student I.D. swiped to get in. You have to attend four per semester your freshman and sophomore year in order to graduate. Those can range from games, to speakers, to meeting people and are pretty cool. I also go to Tampa a lot since my girlfriend lives in Tampa.
What have been some of your favorite times at Eckerd?
One of my favorite times so far has been running for Senate. I had a lot of fun in the election process with running and competing. We’ve also had a few dorm Olympics events that we helped set up with the Senate. We did a game of capture the flag where we inflated a bunch of inflatable obstacles and had each level of our complex compete. That was a lot of fun and was a good way to bond with your next-door neighbors and roommates more.
How happy are you with the weekend options at Eckerd? Is there anything you would change about them if you could?
I think it’s pretty amazing what goes on at Eckerd. I don’t think there’s ever a time when there’s nothing to do. I know sometimes we even have different volunteer activities where we go clean up the beach. To graduate, we have to have [a minimum of 40-hours of service]. It’s also a lot of fun that we have things close by to do like we have shuttles that take us to the Dali Museum and the Saturday Morning Market.

Campus Culture

How did you meet your closest friends?
Through my classes. When I took the freshman class [during Autumn Term], it really helped me meet people in the exact same situation since we were all in the transition situation. That transition can be scary, so it helps to know that there are people going through what you’re going through. I met my friends sitting in that class and talking about [the transition].
How would you describe the overall social scene at Eckerd?
Overall, I don’t think there are any cliques or anything like that. I feel like there’s a lot of friendliness on campus. It’s very laid-back. We have a lot of people on skateboards and people who don’t wear shoes, which makes it a laid-back campus environment that I think helps alleviate some of the tension and stress that comes along with schoolwork. It allows people to socialize better because you can walk down the street and say hi to people. I would also contribute that to the way our classes are designed because they’re usually seminars where we have to speak up.
To what extent do people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
Eckerd is extremely lacking in our diversity as far as race goes. For sexual orientation and gender diversity, we have a lot of that of different ways people identify and that is accepted. We also have offices available for people to help them cope with issues that students may face because of their identity or race. Racially, I don’t think there are problems between people, it’s just a predominately White campus. [About 19% of students are minorities. See The Current article, “Eckerd lacks racial diversity, compensates with diversity of interests, abilities” and article, “Students hope for more campus diversity.”]
How would you describe the student body at Eckerd?
I think we’re all pretty accepting people. We all come from different states and Floridians only make up [about 21%] of the student body which makes things different. There is a lot of culture mixing, so I do feel that is a very welcoming and non-judgmental place.
How do you like the size of Eckerd in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How has it impacted your experience? [There are about 2,000 students at Eckerd.]
Right now, it feels a little cramped. They had to make my dorm a triple when it was supposed to be a double to compensate for the extra students, but I think they are working to fix that next year.

Careers

Have you learned any computer programs or languages that will be helpful to you professionally?
No, I haven’t. I’m not really good with computers and my classes haven’t forced me to come out of my shell with that so far. I’m taking a class next semester that I hope will get me better with Excel.

Financial Aid

Have you used financial aid? If so, how easy is the office to work with?
I do use financial aid. They’re often there and are easy to work with there and are also quick to respond to emails. There have been some discrepancies with my aid and they were quick to fix that when I went to them.