the Informer

The University of Hartford has taught me a lot of extremely valuable lessons, many of which did not come at the hands of professors, but from my experiences living on campus. There are a lot of things I’m going to miss about this place, but there are also a lot of things that I won’t. As graduation is just a few short weeks away many seniors are entering a period of reflection, and with the idea of being a certified, card-carrying adult in the immediate future, I am terrified just like everyone else. To keep my mind off these things, I’ve come up with this short list of things I will and won’t miss. Things I will miss: 1. I love the residential community on campus. There are few places in the outside world where people can knock on your door at 1 a.m., completely hosed, asking for a cigarette and have it be acceptable. How many neighborhoods can you go to where you can waltz into anyone’s place, assuming it’s open, and be welcomed warmly? Never again will I be within walking distance of all the people I love, and that makes me sad. 2. President Walter Harrison. We truly lucked out with one of the best university presidents around, and I have never heard anyone speak an ill word about him. Knowing that, at the top of the chain, there is an administrator who truly cares about the student body, is comforting. There is no question about it, if anyone believes in us, it’s President Harrison, and I cannot thank him more for his unrelenting support of all of our endeavors. 3. Brilliance. There are plenty of professors on this campus that are absolutely brilliant, and I wish I’d had the chance to spend more time learning from them. 4. The Office of Residential Life Staff. Although RAs may not be too popular among residents as policy enforcers, and I may not always agree with the policies ORL implements, as a group these people are some of the most amazing people I have ever had the opportunity to work with. We made it through some major campus crises (student losses, armed robberies, fires, floods, damage and whatever else was thrown at us) with the support of each other. My experience with ORL has allowed and encouraged me to grow into a strong person, even when residents are throwing their empty beer cans across the lawn and dumping their drinks on my feet. My time on duty can only be described as interesting, and for that I thank ORL (and of course, the residents for making all of these incidents possible). 5. The Informer. I figured this would be a give-in, but in the three years I spent as a writer and copy editor, I have had some amazing times. I feel as though this year’s editorial board is more like a weirdly deranged family than a staff, and I just cannot imagine it being any different. The dedication of this staff to the paper, the news and the pursuit of uncovering corruption and unjust treatment in the university community is unmatched, and we have the credentials to prove it. I am having a hard time imagining my Wednesday nights without these people. Things I won’t miss: 1. The apathy of the student body (and students in general). Stand up for yourselves! I was disgusted to see so many people say they were going to protest Spring Fling or go to the general CAT meeting where administration was fielding student questions, and then see so few people actually DO something about it. In order to grow as people, we need to be willing to question the things we don’t agree with in a proactive way. Don’t just complain, come up with a solution and then make a sincere attempt at implementing it. 2. Sunday morning party trash. Although I know there’s nothing better than waking up on Sunday morning and reliving the events of a successful party, it doesn’t need to be all over the Village lawn. I’m looking forward to my future front lawn/stoop/sidewalk being decorated with ornaments and not beer cans (although depending on who you are, I suppose they could be one in the same). 3. Aramark. Not only have I been subjected to severely undercooked meats, dirty kitchen conditions, rude employees and extremely overpriced food, I haven’t been able to choose my own meal plan for three years (as part of my RA compensation). There’s nothing better than living in an area on campus with a full kitchen and not being able to cook any food because I only had 250 dining dollars to last me 14 weeks. 4. The deluge. Don’t act like you’re going to miss having to trudge through inches and inches of water each time it even looks like it’s going to rain. 5. The lack of respect that students get from administration. I’m sorry, but we are all adults here, and for some reason when I try to have a question answered by an administrator, I get the runaround. When my parents call, though, the first person they speak to seems to have the answer, even if I spoke to that person just an hour earlier about the same thing. So many of my friends and peers have been screwed because someone miscounted their credits or because their advisors told them they were set to graduate even though they were missing credits. There needs to be a serious overhaul in the near future to get rid of the people who are detrimental to students due to careless mistakes or a lack of care. To the class of 2010, I wish you the best of luck. I hope you never lose touch with the people you love, and live your life to the fullest. Yes, it’s cheesy, but it’s also true. I will look back on my time at Hartford fondly, and with the hopes of hearing about the successes of my peers in the papers. Congratulations, 2010 graduates.