Choice in division

Like many college students with free time before bed, I was recently doomscrolling on TikTok, trying to find something funny before going to sleep. I kept hearing about a gender divide within Gen Z, which led me to thinking about the divisions among our generation as a whole.

Gen Z is divided in many individual aspects of life, like the ways in which we view success and happiness or the things we prioritize. Political participation of young people has been a strong presence that has increased over the last five years. This shows there is a desire from Gen Z to have our voices heard and to resolve issues affecting our communities. However, as we continue to pull back from one another and our community, I wonder: Is our generation going to continue to separate? Can we do anything as individuals to come together?

I then remembered the values we are living out every day at St. Joe’s. Jesuit values and Catholic social teaching are guides for how we can become one community again. Every student at St. Joe’s has heard of at least one Jesuit principle, but one that stands out in this case is solidarity: being “with and for others.”

Pope Leo XIV reflected on this principle when he stated, “Whenever God’s ‘breath’ unites our hearts and makes us view others as our brothers and sisters, differences no longer become an occasion for division and conflict but rather a shared patrimony from which we can all draw, and which sets us all on journey together, in fraternity.”

It is up to us to accept this new perspective and see each other as a community. We cannot expect for this divide to be resolved on its own. It is our own choice whether or not we want to be in community, so I encourage you to reflect on your time here at St. Joe’s and how you have (or can) make the choice toward solidarity and community.