We all made the conscious decision to attend this expensive private school. Some students are going into tens of thousands of dollars worth of debt and will pay off loans until they are middle-aged. On the opposite end of the spectrum, other students are forced to search for merit-based scholarships to alleviate their parents’ burden. But what unites us is the fact that all students are promised an excellent education on a modern campus. The new $48,132 tuition with room and board for the 2011-12 year should be completely justified. Yet, there are some improvements that must be acknowledged. The proposals are necessary to sustain a growing student body on a largely 1960s-looking college campus.
Students without cars often complain about the unnecessary walks to and from the far ends of campus — especially in the winter. A free or inexpensive shuttle makes sense on a campus known for its steep hills. There have been plans for a shuttle service in the past, but students have yet to see the school’s administrators set a contract in motion. A shuttle service would also work well for handicapped students in need of reliable transportation to previously inaccessible buildings. A secondary effect would be alleviating the burden of finding a parking space. Our school is growing, but the number of spaces seems diminished.
Campus Center Dining Hall should also be remodeled. All too often, the dining hall reaches maximum capacity, and students are forced to wait until enough classmates exit the facility. There is more than enough space for Campus Center Dining Hall to expand its dining room toward the lower quads. The student body is only growing, and therefore the college must be able to sustain and accommodate students at all locations. Implementing barstool seating along a window would lessen the burden of one person eating a quick lunch at a four-top table. Remodeling the dining hall would prevent congestion in tight, high-volume areas.
The classrooms and library have archaic Dell computers running Windows XP. In the year 2011, we should have access to fast, modern computers running Windows 7 — the latest operating system. In addition, Novell should be updated or booted; it should not take seven minutes to log in to one’s account. There must be an inexpensive or similarly priced alternative that can be considered. If our college wants to stay competitive, we need to make sure our technology does not lag behind other schools. Even at my public high school, we received new iMac desktops and MacBook laptops every two years from Apple. There is no reason a private higher educational facility cannot be part of a similar program.
IC Square encourages students to feel comfortable and stay awhile, whether it’s for meetings or just relaxing with a cup of coffee. As more students use laptops and other peripherals for group projects, staying for a few hours without access to electric outlets is detrimental. While IC Square is one of the most modern locations on campus, it is in need of improvements to accommodate our growing addiction to technology.
The plans set forth aren’t necessarily aesthetic as much as they are important changes to our college’s infrastructure. These proposed upgrades shouldn’t be seen as superfluous but rather a call to action. Administrators should ask students what they want to see and take suggestions to improve our campus.
Marc Phillips is a sophomore integrated marketing communications student. E-mail him at [email protected].
