Lately, I am finding it increasingly difficult to focus in class. Honestly, I am finding it difficult to even go to class. When I am faced with homework, my eyes tend to glaze over. I think it’s time to admit that senioritis has hit me, and it’s in full effect.
Seriously, I don’t necessarily feel that senioritis is a bad thing. It gives me much more time to do things, like write bad editorials and catch up with friends in class. Mostly, though, senioritis has given me time to think about the past four years at Quinnipiac.
When I came here in 1997, Quinnipiac College was a small college. I lived in a crowded room in Irma with two other girls. I had a place to park my car whenever I went out. I could get through the cafeteria in 15 minutes or less. Closed containers were all the rage on Friday and Saturday nights. I’ve never had as much fun in my life.
Sophomore year in Troup was a blast – but overcrowding, the beginnings of a parking problem, a $2,000 incentive, and May Weekend ’99 were more than enough reason for me to move off-campus.
Junior year off-campus was perfect. Seeing how people lived on campus (which mildly resembled sardines packed in a tin) made me glad I made the decision to move off-campus, and stay there for my senior year.
Throughout this time at Quinnipiac, I have watched it change. The change hasn’t all been bad. I’ve watched (and heard) the Ledges being built. I’ve seen the development of the Pine Grove area into classrooms and offices, and the change of the old library to the new.
I have also seen the change of Quinnipiac College to Quinnipiac University. This change hasn’t all been good. I’ve watched the student center get more and more crowded. I’ve had my commuter mailbox taken away from me. I’ve seen the dance studios that were used for gym classes my freshman and sophomore years used as administrative offices, and now as classrooms, because of the overcrowding on our campus.
I sometimes wonder if the administration has taken on too much, too fast. I am not saying that Quinnipiac should not have ever changed – that’s unrealistic, and would have ultimately led to a diminished quality of education and services offered at the school. What I am suggesting is that perhaps Quinnipiac – and the administration and leaders here – need to reflect on taking on more than they can handle.
One has to wonder about the changes made to the school over the past four years. Have these decisions been made for “the good of the whole” (as a teacher of mind likes to say)? Does the administration keep everybody in mind when they make decisions regarding the university – including faculty, staff, and most importantly, the students?
When President Lahey got a raise a few weeks ago, was he keeping the good of the whole in mind? When he picks up his fat, and soon to be fatter paycheck, does he stop to think about the union that has been fighting for fair wages and benefits for months now?
He should.
When the school made the decision to change from Quinnipiac College to Quinnipiac University, and then proceeded to waste money putting up marble signs that said, “Quinnipiac College” only to replace them months later with signs that said, “Quinnipiac University,” was that for the good of the whole? Was there a better way to spend the money that was wasted on those marble slabs?
Probably. But we’ll never know.
I propose these questions not for the sole purpose of criticizing the administration. As I stated previously, there have been some good things that have come from change. Eventually, the changes to the school will yield a positive result – I hope.
I just want to remind the decision makers in our university that, while they look to the future and try to expand the college, they need to keep an eye on the present – and the present needs of the student population currently enrolled at Quinnipiac. The administration needs to keep “the good of the whole” in mind in the coming years, or soon they won’t have a “whole” to look out for.
No one wants to attend a university that is so focused on the future that it ignores the present.
That’s something that I think the administrators need to keep in mind as they plan for the coming years.
But hey, what do I know? That’s probably just the senioritis talking.