As a sophomore at the University of Alaska Anchorage, I feel privileged and proud to be a part of a student body, and faculty, dedicated to the success and growth of its students. I am a 19-year-old "traditional" student; I started at UAA immediately after high school and will have my Bachelor of Science in two years. I do not have children, nor am I studying child development. However, the news of Tanaina Child Development Center, based in my beloved university, being shut down and relocated has caused me great confusion.
Why, in my university that is so dedicated to the success and growth of its students, is something like this happening? This is not a letter from a parent or a faculty member condemning UAA for its decision, but a letter from a student explaining that it is not only important but meaningful that UAA gets back to its ultimate goal toward success and growth of its students. To get back on track toward that goal begins with reopening the case of Tanaina and looking comprehensively at what truly is at stake.
Having cousins who go to Tanaina, I have seen firsthand the foundation for creative development that this facility sets in a child. I know that this is unique to Tanaina. When my older sister and brother talked about going back to UAA to further their educations, I thought about Tanaina and how wonderful and comforting it would be for them to have access to this facility. Now that it is being relocated, I know those opportunities no longer exist.
What I am putting an emphasis on is the fact that more than one opportunity is being lost: creative development for children in a comfortable environment and the same opportunity for their parents to grow and advance. This is something I find so important.
Without our community having these opportunities, we are left with a quite closed-off community. These are opportunities Tanaina offers. Apart from the effects on my own family, I am saddened by the thought of my fellow classmates who are parents having to lose something that they have planned around. Thinking back through my first two years at UAA, I can think of more than 30 students who have children I have met. They no longer have this option, either.
I will admit it, and I think this speaks for many students at UAA: I do not use many of the facilities that my tuition pays for. This includes Tanaina; I do not use Tanaina because I do not have children. But I am completely happy with a portion of my tuition being contributed to this facility because, as a student myself, I am deeply invested in the well-being of the future students of Alaska. I had a conversation just the other day with about eight other students when we all realized, in shock, that we pay fees to be able to access the new Alaska Airlines Center. This was a shock to us because none of us have ever been to the center, nor will we be using it. Yet, we have to pay for it. This is just a small portion of the fees we as students have.
If one of the fees I pay for goes toward a child being able to learn in a creative way, I am for it. I know that it is not possible to choose which facilities we help pay for and don't pay for but if given the option, I choose Tanaina.
Trina Musliu is a sophomore and a biology major at UAA. She hopes to attend medical school.
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