Published: November 8, 2007

An article in the November issue of “U.S. Catholic” stated that Catholic universities in America fall into one of four categories.  But Fordham is a pragmatic school, constantly trying to move forward to provide its students with the best possible education.  So trying to lump it into an outdated category system just is not plausible.

The four groups that Catholic universities are supposed to fit into are: immersion schools, which enroll only Catholic students and are located outside of urban areas; persuasion schools, which are religious institutions that don’t force students to participate in Catholic services but encourage it; diaspora schools, whose student population is largely non-Catholic and are located in the inner-city or in Catholic areas of the country; and finally, cohort schools, which cater to bright students who are expected to have a considerable influence on society by promoting Catholic ideals upon graduation.

We believe that Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) is a combination of a cohort school and a persuasion school with a greater emphasis on the cohort school.  Fordham admits students who have achieved academic excellence in high school, and upon graduation from Fordham, it is the school’s hope that its students will go on to live ethically sound lives that promote the Jesuit ideals taught at Fordham.  From a persuasion school perspective, students who enter FCLC as  freshmen are aware of Fordham’s religious ties, but FCLC does not force students to participate in Catholic services.

The fact that Fordham doesn’t fit into one category proves that this kind of grouping is arbitrary.  We doubt that most Catholic universities in America would be able to define themselves by one category and one category only.  To accommodate all Catholic universities, numerous categories would have to be created, but what is the point in that?  Colleges should not be categorized.  The whole point of college is to become your own person and to expand your mind, not to live your life by the standards set by the category your school’s supposed to fit into.  Fordham teaches critical thinking and individualism, and “U.S. Catholic” should realize that we live in a forward-thinking age.

Many students come to Fordham for more than its religious affiliation.  They come for the school’s prime Manhattan location and the myriad opportunities Fordham provides its students.  Religious affiliation or not, Fordham is our school and New York is our campus.