Another semester has gone by in our wintry city of Rochester. Some things have gotten better with time and some have just worsened. Here are a collection of our yearly cheers and jeers, where we give our shout-outs for the good and criticisms for the bad.
Cheers to the upcoming renovations of the 19th Ward. It will be a great economic improvement for the city of Rochester and the area will no longer have the stigma of an unsafe area for UR students. The project will serve to give a new life to part of the city and encourage increasingly more students to appreciate Rochester to a greater extent.
Jeers to club plans that are just examples of ARAMARK and Dining Services finding more ways to shake more money from students pockets through confusing and constantly shifting meal plans. Many students have more club meals than they can physically spend, and the left over clubs result in wasted money for students that are already spending tens of thousands in order to attend UR.
Cheers to the RED program that has helped save UR students money while shopping and dining in Rochester. The program both encourages students to explore and enjoy the best aspects of the city, while simultaneously showing Rochester that UR students do actually venture beyond the River Campus.
While the RED program is a great idea, jeers must be given to those promoting the RED program for failing to make a more consistent advertising effort or in providing adequate information for students. The program could be much more successful if the program had a more visible presence and took a more active effort in adding more businesses to the programming.
The newly created Wilson Commons Wednesdays program deserves a great deal of cheers. The program gives a bit of much-needed variety to dining on campus and provides students an opportunity to browse a few vendors while getting some free goodies in the process.
Jeers to the condoms delivered to CPU boxes in promotion of “‘Tis Pity She’s A Whore,” as the Theatre Department stapled through some of the condoms in order to attach them to the advertisements. The inaccurate stapling both destroyed the condoms’ sterile environment and completely eliminated the devices effectiveness in some cases.
The biggest cheer, by far, has been earned by Registrar Nancy Speck and ITS in the implementation of the long-overdue online registration. The easy-to-use system has traded frustratingly long waits in lines for quick and simple software.
Jeers to Fashionably Late for providing mediocre and infrequently attended programs. This money could be better spent funding activities UR students actually enjoy.
The Campus Club Connection deserves cheers for incorporating numerous useful aspects, such as mass mailing and room reservations that aid in the management of Students’ Association organizations. The newly added ability to grant other members access to its tools deserves praise, as well.
The CCC is worthy of a jeer, as well. The system for inputting information about an organization’s members is completely unnecessary and tedious. This detracts from the system’s usefulness.
Jeers to the toned down attitude toward Meliora Weekend this year. Meliora Weekend should be a celebration of UR that attracts as many alumni, family members and community residents as possible. Last year was a great success in every aspect, while this year disappointed many. Rather than purposely reduce the celebration, UR should focus on ways to accommodate the influx of parents and alumni.
Cheers to the Freshmen and Sophomore Class Councils for organizing and funding busing to and from the airport for the Thanksgiving holiday. This program eliminated some of the traffic surrounding the Susan B. Anthony Residence Halls and saved money for many UR students.
And finally, a TEAR to the multitude of students who are forced to deal with the perpetual problems of parking and dining services – two essential university monopolies that greatly detract from the quality of student life.
