CHEERS to the slate of excellent speakers and performers who made appearances at the University this weekend. Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, Ken Burns, Ben Folds, Trevor Noah, and Tony Bennett made us think, reflect, laugh, and, yes, cheer, at event after incredible event.
JEERS to whichever students (or alumni!) stole the “R” from the gigantic M-E-L-I-O-R-A on the Eastman Quad, after rearranging the letters to spell R-A-I-L M-E late on Saturday night. Have a little respect, folks.
CHEERS to Parking and Transportation Management for their weekend cease-fire on parking tickets. Mel Weekend is a hectic time for students who own cars, as visiting alumni and parents cause a scramble for parking spaces. Declining to issue tickets is a generous and much appreciated gesture from the often-maligned department.
JEERS to the rainy weather we endured while waiting in line for sweaters, scarves, and baseball caps in a giveaway from the Office of Advancement. Oh well—it can’t be helped.
CHEERS to the Office of Advancement for coming out in the rainy weather to give out free Rochester memorabilia to 500 students from each class year. (Especially the vintage letterman sweater given out to seniors—a hot commodity!)
JEERS to the fact that everyone in the senior class is going to be wearing that same sweater all winter long. So much for originality.
CHEERS to the University staff, Facilities and Dining Services workers, bus drivers, and student volunteers who put in a whole lot of effort to accommodate a swelling tide of visitors to campus this weekend. Without their hard work, the weekend would have been complete chaos.
JEERS to wasteful spending on extravagant Mel Weekend decorations: enormous strands of balloons, white picket fences, ornate chandeliers and brand-new grass shouldn’t be a necessary part of the event.
CHEERS to the live social media feed at the Trevor Noah event devolving into meme anarchy after students realized that the feed was not filtered, and that anything tagged with the hashtag #urmw16 would appear on screen.
JEERS to the UR administration for not expecting the above result of an unfiltered social media feed.
CHEERS to the first installation of the hydrophobic paint project—in the middle of the footbridge to Brooks Crossing. If you’re crossing the river when it rains, “Be Happy” shows up in sharp relief at the apex of the bridge. We encourage the Students’ Association Government to persist in their project to install more of these around campus.
CHEERS to the Friday afternoon barbecue, and the long-awaited opening of the freshly landscaped Hajim Science and Engineering Quad. No longer will students have to take a lengthy detour around a fenced-off construction site to reach Carlson Library and Hutchison Hall. The new quad is accessible and inviting—thanks in no small part to the wide-open arms of the new statue of alumnus Ed Hajim.
JEERS to the immense traffic crush and parking shortage created by droves of parents and alumni descending on campus in their automobiles. It’s not the end of the world, but it’s no fun—if you’re a student who owns a car—to have to go a whole weekend without driving, lest you lose your parking spot.
Finally, CHEERS to the students, alumni, parents, and friends who showed up to make the weekend a success—and here’s hoping that in the future, we’ll all be back to visit our beloved college home beside the Genesee.
