Change instead of complainThis letter is in response to Jason Kutcher’s article “Everyone needs to take a chill pill.” I’m sorry that you’re one of those obnoxious people who are always late to class, but really, do you have to whine about it as if it’s our fault that we can actually tell time? I found it extremely annoying when I came to UR two years ago that everyone, students to teachers, showed up late for class. I was raised to be on time. It’s simple courtesy to both the teacher and the other students. I hate it when some lame student walks in a half hour late and disrupts class by asking stupid questions that he would have known the answer to had he bothered to arrive on time. Do not waste my time because you cannot manage yours. Secondly, where do you get off calling left-handed people genetic freaks?I, myself and a lot of people I know at UR are left-handed. It is annoying for us to use right-handed desks every day but do we cry about it? No. You have to use one for one class for one day and have to write an article about it. I’m so sorry for your suffering. My heart bleeds for you – but really, grow up. I’m sure you survived mostly un-traumatized. As for us lefties, we really appreciate the occasional break when we find a classroom that actually has a couple left-handed desks, and the left-handed seats in Hoyt even come with the traditional right-handed desks as well.You know, I never rush to class and have never been late. Maybe if you lay off the chill pills you can too.Jeff EllsworthClass of 2006
Student quality the problemThe recent editorial titled Quality Lacking was indeed appropriately named. The author claims that UR students lack camaraderie because of three main reasons – the tradeoff between studying and socializing, the lack of big-name guests at weekend events and the difficulty in locating useful Web sites to track-down information on events. These statements are false. However, they hint at the real problem that the author fails to address.Time is indeed a precious commodity for UR students – but in a very different way than what the original author understands. Contrary to the author’s original claim, there is not an overwhelming tradeoff between GPA and social time – even when school-planned events do not have big name guests. The truth, instead, is that the four years spent at UR will pass in the blink of an eye. As a student, you should attempt to live each day at school in recognition that it will finish quickly. Weekend events are just one of many ways that you should explore your free time while in college and they offer an opportunity to meet new students and try new things. Therefore, the problem that these weekend events face is not the quality of the “lackluster” programming but the quality of the lackluster students. The author may very well be the archetype of the disinterested, unenthusiastic person of whom he speaks. In the words of Thoreau, “Show me a bored person, and I’ll show you a boring person.”Additionally, every weekend cannot be like the more celebrated weekends like Meliora Weekend or D-Day. These alternative weekend social events are meant to be welcome supplements. For their budgets, they offer entertainment that would otherwise not be available. These events are as fun as you want them to be.Also claimed is the inability to locate links to Campus Club Connection on the UR websites or its subsidiaries. If the author took the time to conduct thorough research, he would have seen that there is indeed a prominent link to Campus Club Connection on http://www.sa.rochester.edu. It is clearly visible on the left side and does not require any searching. Furthermore, CCC is easily available by making two clicks from the homepage. It could not be much simpler. The claim that putting the calendar into a monthly format or that a more prominent link would solve any problem is just a tarp to cover up the elephant in his article. Again, the “lack of camaraderie” does not come from the fault of the UR administration to implement pie-in-the-sky changes, but that certain reactive students, are themselves the problem. I propose that these students instead become the change that they seek. Although I will not digress into a diatribe toward the author, the flaw in his logic begs the question: Why do you suggest that the SAO advertise events that you believe are poor to begin with?Finally, the SAO already allows for easy communication. The affable staff will openly listen to anybody who walks in, and if you happen to be too shy to do that, you can send an email to http://www.sao.rochester.edu (and sign up for a Hotmail account if you want to do it anonymously). As you can see, there is no need for an online “feedback forum” to solve these problems when there are existing processes that work. Also, it is easily foreseeable that if such a forum were introduced, that its usefulness would quickly atrophy as it would be “poorly advertised” or it would lack an enormous spot on the UR homepage and consequentially, reactive students would then complain about that instead of addressing the problem that is themselves.In conclusion, the ultimate problem that nobody wishes to confront is that lackluster students make for lackluster student bodies. Why is this problem overlooked? It is overlooked because it is easier to blame the problem on “the administration,” “the city,” “the weather,” “ARAMARK” or anything else other than yourselves. I entreat the current undergraduates to first look in the mirror. I urge you to be proactive in all that you do and not take for granted the time you have at UR. If you spend all of your time complaining about it, you will only miss out on the really great times.Ankur Pansari Class of 2004
Efforts already being madeI’m glad you want a more aggressive approach to building our national reputation. I do too. We are making excellent progress thanks to visionary College leaders and committed alumni, faculty and staff. However, saying “Admissions’ campaign [depends] on students coming to campus…” is wrong. If you investigate, you’ll find we do much more.Arriving last summer, I inherited exceptional admission counselors who believe in UR. They will spend weeks traveling away from their families this fall to visit 600+ high schools and host regional receptions. With volunteer alumni, they will conduct thousands of off-campus admissions interviews.To support them we are sending more brochures and emails, extending contact to 65 cities worldwide, developing web interactivity and hiring an innovative national design firm for next year’s publications. Here on campus you’ll also find hard-working operations and strategy staff, student Meridians leading tours and a financial aid office that helps more people than any other university of our type.We hope to see terrific results over the next few years, but we need your help. Every CT reader can boost UR’s reputation by hosting student visitors on campus, spreading the word back home, and succeeding in your own academic career.jonathan burdickDean of Admissions and Financial Aid
