The student body has grown tired. We’ve tired of the food we eat, the scheduling conflicts, the new “convenience” fees and the lack of parking. However, if you look at all those things they are necessary evils. As students we might dislike and gaffe at them, but when we stop and really break them down we can understand them.
The lack of quality food on campus can be attributed to the mass amount of students that Sodexo is feeding. Scheduling is an ongoing experiment. The fees are just being passed on to us, which the school has normally paid. As the campus and student population grow, accommodating every student with a parking spot is impossible. The list of examples can go on, but these things are understandable.
The line between the understandable and not is a very tricky one to define, but when one such complaint crosses that line it infuriates those affected. There are two types of students on this campus and one type far outnumber the other. Commuters and residents are not the same students. Stop treating us as if we are.
One of the main campaigns that CCSU is pushing is campus and community involvement. They don’t want to be seen as a ‘suitcase college’. Suitcase college. What does that mean? It’s a nicer way of saying commuter school. Central doesn’t want to be seen as a commuter school. Likewise, students don’t want to go to a commuter school. There are negative connotations to that, aren’t there?
What are the reasons that we’re viewed as a commuter school? The fact that the majority of our fellow classmates drive from their homes to go to class isn’t the cause for this feeling, even though it is backed by statistical data showing they are the majority here. 22% of undergraduate students here live on campus. That’s about 2,000 people. Have you ever actually seen 2,000 young adults around campus between Friday morning and Sunday evening? No, that’s almost laughable.
This campus is lucky to have half of its residents stay here on a given weekend. Excluding weekends that have concerts, homecoming games and similar events, this holds true. The administration has seen this problem and is trying to correct this, but they’re shooting in the dark.
The biggest thing that would keep a student here extends beyond a concert or a conference football game. It has nothing to do with how many movies they can play in the Devils’ Den or filling the Student Center Circle with giant inflatables. It has everything to do with facilities.
Memorial Hall, our on-campus mess hall is open for a total of 17 hours combined between Saturday and Sunday every week. It closes at 6:30 p.m. on Saturdays, but any student will tell you that you need to get there by 5:30 p.m. to get anything good to eat. Some of us have jobs that don’t get out till several hours after then. You’re telling us we can’t eat, even though we paid for the food in advance? The alternative is, for some or unfortunately most students, is to go home.
At home you can get a cooked meal at 7 or 8 p.m. on Saturday. A student can sit in the comfort of their own home and study at 4 p.m., which is 15 minutes past the closing time of the library on Saturday. That’s embarrassing. A learning institution that doesn’t have a library open past 3:45 p.m. on a Saturday isn’t a learning institution. It’s a facade.
It’s not all grim for this university, however. Departments like RECentral and the Student Center are getting it right. Their buildings and programs extend into the ghost hours on campus, but they alone cannot keep people here. It’s going to take a unified front.
Take this time and decide who you want to be, CCSU. Do you want to be a commuter school or a strong respected university? Examining your practices might show you what you’ve already decided.
