Advertisement
The Student Newspaper of DePaul University

The DePaulia

The Student Newspaper of DePaul University

The DePaulia

The Student Newspaper of DePaul University

The DePaulia

Polish presence absent at university, strong in students

The first anniversary of Smolensk, referring to the plane crash that claimed the life of Polish President Lech Kaczynski, his wife and 94 other prominent Poles, was remembered on April 8. Pope John Paul II’s Beatification will take place on May 1. Polish Constitution Day is May 3, with Chicago’s massive Polish Constitution Parade expecting to draw 250,000 people on May 7 this year. These events hold great importance and pride for Poles and Polish Americans, but will any DePaulians be waving their red and white flags? Are they even aware of these Polish celebrations?

The Chicagoland area is home to more than 820,000 Polish people, according to the 2000 Census Report. Despite being set in the largest Polish city outside of Warsaw, DePaul is void of Polish representation in its academic curriculum. Loyola, University of Chicago and University of Illinois-Chicago all offer at least a minor in Polish studies, and courses are not limited to the Polish language. The curriculums encompass a variety of topics such as culture, history, economics and literature. DePaul has not offered a Polish course in over two years, a stark contrast from rival Chicago universities. It’s not even that DePaul hasn’t offered a class in years – it also doesn’t plan to in the future

What other universities offer

Loyola University

Minor in Polish Studies

University of Illinois-Chicago

BA with a major in Polish; Minor in Polish

University of Chicago

Minor/BA/MA in Slavic Languages and Literature (Polish classes offered under West Slavic concentration)

Northwestern University

Minor/BA in Slavic Languages and Literatures

(Offers Polish classes)

“It’s been essentially phased out,” said Matthew Sebastian, who works in the modern language department. “Brochures for modern language are being redone, in which Polish won’t be listed anymore.”

Polish has already been removed from DePaul’s website as well. Sebastian, who deals with student inquiries in the department, receives plenty of e-mails from students asking about placement tests to prove they can speak Polish and test out of DePaul’s modern language requirement, but rarely gets a proposal to reinstate Polish classes.

If one were adamant about taking a course, the department wouldn’t call it impossible to do so. The only way to take a Polish class is to do an independent study with Professor Adam Hilevsky, currently the sole professor with the capability to teach Polish. The problem is, he’s at his maximum workload teaching French. If he were to hypothetically drop a few classes to make room for Polish ones, the French department, one of the most popular within modern language, would undoubtedly feel the repercussions. The hiring of a new professor would be a more probable solution, though it is uncertain at this time if the department has room in its budget for it.

DePaul students, Polish and not, weighed in on the lack of Polish classes.

“If I had the option to choose between an American history and Polish history class, I’d pick Polish,” said sophomore Jessica Dabski, daughter of Polish immigrants. “With all the general education requirements we have to take, I might as well learn something about my heritage.”

“I had no idea Chicago was so Polish, but knowing that, it’s disappointing that DePaul has excluded Polish from its curriculum,” said junior Elliot Obregon. “It would make DePaul more cultured.”

One way Polish DePaulians can tap into Polish culture is by joining the DePaul Polish Student Alliance (DPSA), an organization where students of Polish descent gather to discuss Polish topics, watch Polish movies or generally meet fellow Poles. In comparison to the Polish student clubs of aforementioned Chicago universities, however, DePaul’s seems to lack structure and organization. Although DPSA has an updated Facebook page, the official website hasn’t been updated with events since 2005. Loyola and Northwestern’s Polish clubs, on the other hand, post a current calendar of events on their official websites. Remek Jakimow, a Polish-American junior, wanted to join DPSA this year, but became frustrated at the poor planning of meetings.

“I would get a Facebook invite to the next meeting a day or two beforehand,” said Jakimow. “I’d like to see meetings planned out a bit more in advance.”

DePaul has another saving grace to counteract the Polish void: the Kraków study abroad program. Although it is fairly unpopular-only four students participated last fall quarter-it’s unique in the sense that it is the only program with extensive travel. Students tour Central Europe during the first three weeks, visiting major cities such as Berlin, Budapest, Prague and Vienna before finally settling in Jagiellonian University in Kraków. Multiple excursions are also taken throughout Poland on the weekends.

Jakimow, who studied abroad in Kraków, Poland last fall quarter, suggests others learn more about Poland’s interesting past.

“I think a lot of people don’t know how important Polish history is. Poland was the first country to take a stand against Germany; if they didn’t, maybe we’d be speaking German right now. Poles have a history of being brave and proud, even when they’re defeated and get wiped off the map.”

The fate of Polish teachings lies in the students’ hands, as the modern language department says it would offer them if a significant amount of students were interested. Just as Poland was repressed and taken off the map, so too may a population of students yearning to reclaim a spot back on the academic map. And as silence does not set things in motion: speak now, or “indefinitely” hold your peace.

More to Discover