BOSTON - Suffolk University's Instagram post announcing a new artificial intelligence co-major has drawn nearly 1,000 comments, a student petition with 1,500 signatures, and organized email campaigns to administrators. The backlash shows how deeply divided students are over AI's place in their education, even as employers increasingly expect graduates to know how to use it.
The co-major is optional and lets students pair AI with their primary field of study. But many Suffolk students say the rollout ignored their concerns about AI's environmental impact, its effect on critical thinking, and a broader pattern of what they describe as poor communication from administrators on issues like layoffs, tuition increases, and the closure of the university's Madrid campus.
"The thing is, is that no matter how good of an intention it is, you still didn't get the opinions of the people - the students that you're here to educate," said Sophia Toumi, a Suffolk junior studying criminal justice and law.
Why students are pushing back
The concerns go beyond the technology itself. Students point to internal tensions at Suffolk: budget cuts, rising tuition, and a sense that the administration isn't listening. Lindsey Salek, a Suffolk accelerated master's student who graduated with a bachelor's degree last year, said the AI co-major announcement felt out of touch with the campus climate.
"The vibe has been we're just kind of the cash cow, and it's kind of a slap in the face to be implementing this new program when we're being told that we don't have money for other things," she said.
Andrew Perlman, Suffolk's vice president for academic innovation, said the co-major will not require new funding or staff because existing faculty already teach most of the courses. He said no money is being diverted from other programs and that the response online doesn't reflect the full picture. He said students using AI in summer internships have told him they're excited about the option.
"It's important for Suffolk students because nearly every field in every profession is going to be affected by AI if it's not already. And we want to graduate students who are prepared for the world that they're going to enter," he said.
A broader tension in higher education
Suffolk is far from alone. Graduate programs, majors, and minors in AI are now offered at MIT, Northeastern University, Boston University, Tufts, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Bentley, and other Massachusetts schools. The pressure to add these programs comes from two directions: 91% of employers say AI skills are important for college graduates, according to a recent AAC&U report, while young adults remain wary of AI's impacts, per a Pew Research poll.
C. Edward Watson, vice president for digital innovation at the American Association of Colleges and Universities, said universities are caught between staying relevant and confronting the "unethical murkiness" of AI - from environmental costs to intellectual property concerns to job displacement.
Bryan Alexander, senior scholar at Georgetown University, called AI the most divisive technology in higher education. He said the Suffolk backlash against a major - rather than AI in general - is worth watching. His advice for institutions: hold democratic discussions across campus roles before making decisions.
"We're making this up as we go. We're building the plane in midair," he said.
For educators navigating these same questions, resources like AI for Education and AI for Teachers offer practical grounding in how AI is being used in academic settings.
At Northeastern, where AI is woven through more of the curriculum, there has been less public backlash. Valentina Moghaddam, a fifth-year student, said Northeastern students may be more accepting because the institution attracts people who want real-world experience through co-ops. Still, she worries about how deeply AI has spread, even into humanities courses.
"It's made its way into so many corners of our education now that it is sort of breaking us down," she said.
Not all Suffolk students oppose the co-major. Valentina Diaz, a senior majoring in journalism and minoring in AI, said she chose Suffolk specifically for its AI minor after finishing her associate's degree. She sees AI literacy as a job-market advantage, especially outside technology fields.
"I feel AI is the future, and I want to be prepared for it," she said.
What happens next
Perlman said the co-major will still be offered despite the outcry. Students are calling for a public forum to discuss it. Abba Connally, a Suffolk sophomore, said students haven't had a chance to gauge the full extent of opposition since the announcement came over the summer. Toumi hopes the momentum carries into the fall semester.
"We need to actually keep this momentum," she said.
Why this matters for education professionals
For educators and administrators, the Suffolk situation is a case study in how not to introduce AI into a curriculum. The academic argument for teaching AI is strong - employers want it, and nearly every field will be touched by it. But the implementation failed on process: students felt they were informed rather than consulted. The lesson for other institutions is that AI programs need faculty and student buy-in from the start, not just a well-designed course list. The technology may be new, but the governance questions are familiar ones about transparency, trust, and who gets a say in what students learn.
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