There has been a great deal of construction on the UMD campus in the past few years.
This has and will provide several new majors and programs that will bring many more students to our school.
Since 2005, UMD has seen tremendous growth and renovation. The Sports and Health Building received a $13 million addition that was completed in October 2006. The Life Science Building received a renovation completed this July at a cost of $15.2 million. Meanwhile, the Swenson Science building is wrapping up with an overall price tag of $33 million. Also, there is the Labovitz School of Business and Economics, which is expected to be completed next February at a cost of $23 million. Renovations to both the Darland Administration building and the Solon Campus Center have also taken place. All of this along with the fact that the University of Minnesota Board of Regents has just approved a request for over $230 million, which will be forwarded to the State for next year’s bonding request. Included in that request, is money for a new Civil Engineering building for UMD.
Growth at a university is certainly a good thing, and nobody would argue against the construction, renovation or modernization of buildings at UMD.
However, there are a few issues we’d like to see the administration anticipate.
First, is student parking, or the lack of it. With the recent subtraction of parking spots due to construction and bus stops filling some of the metered parking spaces, where are all of these new students going to park? We don’t even have enough spots for the current students.
According to the director of parking, the University sells approximately 1.8 passes for every actual spot available.
Next, there is the issue of student housing on and off campus: Where are we going to house new students coming specifically to UMD because of the new majors and programs offered? Students are already living in study lounges and have previously lived in hotels due to on-campus housing shortages. Off campus, it’s not looking better. There will be a shortage of rental housing in upcoming years, due to the city ordinance passed earlier this year that limits the number of rental houses per city block.
In short, the recent and continuing growth at UMD is very exciting. However, the administration needs to commit itself to addressing our current and future housing and parking needs.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Monday, October 8, 2007
School Spirit Low at Homecoming
Homecoming. First on the mind of so many students who hear this word are memories of high school pep bands and football teams. Everyone knows that Homecoming at UMD is simply not the elaborate display of school spirit that it was when we were just getting our driver’s licenses, but why is this the case?
While so many students flock to the U of M – Twin Cities campus for homecoming there, it cannot entirely be the fact that larger campuses have more to offer with their bigger stadiums, division one status and larger student bodies. This is proven by the fact that homecoming at schools such as the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire also draw notoriously large numbers of students and fans for the weekend’s festivities.
Many jump to blame school administration or the student association for their role, or maybe lack thereof, but in reality it is our own fault as students, that UMD’s Homecoming has resulted in nothing more than a few posters on the wall and another weekend football game. Those who passed on attending the week’s activities because they assumed them to be “lame” or “boring” have effectively rendered it such. Even Greek Life chose not to participate in Homecoming activities this year, and they normally sponsor the tailgating activities.
It is surprising, considering the physical tightness of the UMD campus, that it seems so hard to solicit school spirit from the student body. While UMD Hockey has a fairly attractive following, when they’re doing well anyway, one has to wonder why this type of enthusiasm doesn’t also exist at UMD in general. Perhaps it has something to do with the origins of UMD students, most of them being from the Twin Cities and other parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin.
We can continue to speculate as to why things are this way, or we can do something extremely simple. Participate. The reasoning is even simpler. While we may, as we did in high school, look at our graduation as a point of exit that can’t come too soon, we will one day look back on our collegiate career and reflect. It seems one should be proud of the school they went to, their involvement in student life, the extra-curricular activities that they chose to participate in and even more importantly – the people they go to school with.
Homecoming is more than a football game, it’s a time for students to gather and continue to gather for many years after they graduate. Let’s be proud of our school and participate.
While so many students flock to the U of M – Twin Cities campus for homecoming there, it cannot entirely be the fact that larger campuses have more to offer with their bigger stadiums, division one status and larger student bodies. This is proven by the fact that homecoming at schools such as the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire also draw notoriously large numbers of students and fans for the weekend’s festivities.
Many jump to blame school administration or the student association for their role, or maybe lack thereof, but in reality it is our own fault as students, that UMD’s Homecoming has resulted in nothing more than a few posters on the wall and another weekend football game. Those who passed on attending the week’s activities because they assumed them to be “lame” or “boring” have effectively rendered it such. Even Greek Life chose not to participate in Homecoming activities this year, and they normally sponsor the tailgating activities.
It is surprising, considering the physical tightness of the UMD campus, that it seems so hard to solicit school spirit from the student body. While UMD Hockey has a fairly attractive following, when they’re doing well anyway, one has to wonder why this type of enthusiasm doesn’t also exist at UMD in general. Perhaps it has something to do with the origins of UMD students, most of them being from the Twin Cities and other parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin.
We can continue to speculate as to why things are this way, or we can do something extremely simple. Participate. The reasoning is even simpler. While we may, as we did in high school, look at our graduation as a point of exit that can’t come too soon, we will one day look back on our collegiate career and reflect. It seems one should be proud of the school they went to, their involvement in student life, the extra-curricular activities that they chose to participate in and even more importantly – the people they go to school with.
Homecoming is more than a football game, it’s a time for students to gather and continue to gather for many years after they graduate. Let’s be proud of our school and participate.
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