What makes a university?
First there is some land. Then there are some buildings that contain classrooms, the all-important library, a dormitory for students to live, offices for faculty, staff, and administration, spaces for students to gather and relax in between classes, restrooms are a necessity, water fountains for both drinking and decorations are a must. Add some parking lots and boom, you’ve got a university.
The next question is who is a university?
The answer is multiple groups of people: Our university allows retired members of society to continue their educations by taking classes — this enriches the classroom experience for all who are involved.
The student newspaper, which serves as the voice of the students, informs the university on the goings-on in the area and is the campus watchdog and thorn in the side of administration when they do things not in the best interest of students (example: the funding of the University Revenue Building.)
Then there are the professors, who are specialists in their field of study, who lecture and lead discussions in classrooms (and sometimes at the Tavern). Some students complain about the amount of assigned readings or how professors drone on about “boring subjects,” but this is a shortsighted view.
Scantily clad coeds (especially in the summer months) run around from one side of the university to the other and distract the male students in and outside of classes.
There is the administration, which oversees the operation of the university, makes sure paperwork is correctly filled out and does other things that the vast majority of people on campus do not know about or understand.
But there is another large group of people. Though they are arguably the most important, they are generally overlooked: the staff.
How do you think the restrooms, classrooms, hallways and other places around campus get cleaned? The custodians or janitors are the ones that clean up after our messes (especially the ones caused by the residents in the dormitories).
I know a few on a first name basis and see them around campus as they are going about their days. I cannot find a friendlier group of people. They always have smiles on their faces when talking with me, will crack jokes and let me know that somebody reads my weekly column.
The fine folks in Facilities and Planning care for the buildings on campus and plan for the future of the university.
The Campus Recreation Department oversees the watercrafts, the gym and intramurals in order to provide a distraction from campus life.
There are teaching assistants and graduate assistants that help their academic programs along.
There is a lot more to a university that just the students who attend, the professors that teach, and the administration that administers. There are people that work right in front of our eyes and get hardly any thanks. This goes out to them.
Thank you for all that you do and keep up the good work.
