In a hotly debated topic on campus, the faculty took a vote Nov. 7 and struck down the Master’s of Criminal Justice proposal, 44-43, which was a move in the right direction.

This issue reflects a greater issue the Simpson community hasn’t addressed: identity. There needs to be a discussion about what Simpson College should be, and proposing to add another master’s program to the already over-loaded faculty would only force us to become something that we are not sure everyone wants to be.

Sure, the program would mean more money for the college and serve a need in the community, since there seems to be a lack of Master’s of Criminal Justice opportunities for Iowans. Until we decide on what we want to be, though, whether we want to become a big school or stay a smaller school, we should hold off on implementing programs that force us to become a bigger school.

If we manage to come to a consensus that becoming a bigger school is the direction Simpson College wants to go in, then this program would be one that we would want to incorporate into the curriculum. It would serve the school as much as it would be serving the community. But this is only beneficial if we want to become a bigger school.

Simpson College is a great school right now. There is a personal touch this smaller college provides that the bigger universities don’t. The appropriate faculty members are in place to lead Simpson to even greater success than we have had up to now. It is not the time, however, to start offering another master’s program before we have had a chance to decide what kind of school we should be, a university or a college.