The Franciscan University of Steubenville

Going to FUS was the single most miserable year of my life. I can still remember taking the turn off the main street to start the steep climb up the road that leads to the FUS campus, and the anxiety it would invoke each and every time I had to return. Being that I was only 18, I did not realize that what FUS was,and still is, is nothing more than a cult pretending to be a "prestigious" University. From the moment you step on campus you leave the real world and enter into a land full of judgement, rules, ignorance, elitism, misogyny, and just plain weirdness. To start the student life is broken into several groups. The religious zealots who believe that they can speak in tongues (I can assure you they are just great actors and it is scary as hell) and spend all of their time in the cult like "households." Households are groups that organize themselves by various religious ideas and engage in various religious activities. One household was call the Brides of Christ and they made giant poster boards with pictures of their heads with wedding dresses glued to them that they cut out of magazines. And even more weird,each girl made a pledge to be "married to Jesus." If you decide not to be in a household, you will be shunned by those in that group. Then there are the rich kids. These are the kids that attended private schools their entire lives. If you do not have fancy vacation homes, wear designer name clothing, or drive a European car, forget fitting in with that group. The rich kids have a special way of ignoring the poor. Then there are the kids who are home schooled, never gaining any type of emotional intelligence and not knowing how to function in a new environment outside of their home. Then there are the kids who are "rebels" those who don't follow all of the silly rules and are blacklisted by not only other students, but by the facility.

The classes are a joke. I had a math professor who showed up so drunk he would pass out. I had a theology professor who made it a point to rant about how evil Eve was because she seduced Adam into eating the apple. (the message was clear, women are to blame for the sexual advances or feelings men have) Psychology classes covered nothing of Freud, Erickson, or the like. It was all about how to be Catholic. I learned more about why I should hate Protestants in my psychology class than anything else.

Finally, the rules. ALL OF THE RULES. If you talk in the halls after quite hours, you have to pay a fine. They have a list of movies you can or cannot watch. If you are caught watching the wrong move (like I was caught watching Shawshank Redemmption) you get written up and fined. If you are meeting with somebody of the opposite sex in your dorm room, you got fined. If you listen to "secular' music, you are considered unholy. If you don't go to Mass EVERY SINGLE DAY you are unholy. If you go to Mass on Sunday at 10am instead of 8am you are going to the sinners mass. Because you must of been up doing unholy things to not get to the early mass.

All of the rules and judgement create a perfect environment where a person is not allowed to grow, think, or develop healthy relationships. It is like keeping a dog on leash and getting mad at it if it wants to explore and run. It is like being in a prison, but it is not just the prison guards watching you; EVERY person in the prison is watching you.

Then there is the misogyny. It is clear the being a female and FUS means you are second class. I hate that the friars have their own cars, their own dining hall, and teach the classes. The nuns have to share a van, and can't participate in any type of teaching. In short, women are not allowed to have any voice in religion, even if they dedicate their lives by choosing to be a nun. I can remember people literally crying out of anger when John Paul II said women could be alter servers I was told that I could not wear skirts that are too short, because if I did and it caused a boy to have a sexual thought, then I was the sinner. The thinking at the school is that being female meant you really only had value; to have children and to serve their husbands. I had a job on the landscaping crew and I was not allowed to carry heavy objects because "you can not risk hurting your reproductive parts."

I only lasted a year and transferred to a State University. God, the breath of fresh air was more than I could take in. My life at my new school did not consist of rules, but allowed me the freedom to make my own choices. I was given classes that explored science, and art, and music, and alternative viewpoints. I was challenged to be introspective and to respect the views of others that might be different. There was no judgement if I decided to hang out with a boy in my room because we were friends. There was no judgement if I decided to listen to REM. (a sure sin at FUS) Most important, I was encouraged to pursue my dreams and be an independent women. (not to limit myself to domestic duties the rest of my life) I was was encouraged seek education and to use it e to make the changes I hoped for in the world. If you don't want your spirit and soul to be slowly killed, DO NOT GO TO FUS.

1st Year Female -- Class 2000

Perceived Campus Safety: C, Education Quality: F