I’m not sure if you’re aware but we know nothing about our campus.
During Open House, hundreds of prospective students from around the country went on tours around UT with a few dozen student tour guides.
Living on the show floor of the Vaughn Center, I get to hear pretty much everything said to said potential Spartans on their visits.
I learned more than you’d think, considering this is the end of my third year here on campus.
Did you know’mdash;according to these tour guides’mdash;housekeeping empties our trash? Don’t fret if you miss them though. There are dumpsters ‘located all around campus’ for students to dispose of their unwanted items.
Silly me, I thought I was supposed to put my garbage in those little rooms labeled ‘Trash Room’ at the end of our halls.
In case you missed it, during this last housing selection, students are ‘selected randomly’ for the order to select housing.
All these years I thought those with the highest credit hours and GPAs got first pick.
Guess I don’t know much about UT even though I’m an RA. ‘
Oh, and upperclassman don’t get your hopes up if you planned to save a little money by living in Vaughn or Austin.
From what I heard this morning, absolutely no upperclassmen live in freshmen residence halls.
I should probably kick those sophomore residents of mine out of the hall.
How are students so unaware of where to dump our trash or how housing selection goes?
I’d like to think all these ill-educated tour guides lived off campus, but I know better and, having been one of those tour guides, I know the training in the Admissions Office is far too good for them to have missed those important tidbits of information.
Are we really so in our own world, so unwilling to step out of our comfort zone, we don’t know what is really going on?
I was asked to do a survey regarding Student Government a few days ago. One of the questions asked who our SG President was.
I’m frightened: students don’t know who doles out money and speaks on our behalf, our representative to the Board of Trustees and the Tampa community.
How can students just walk through life, oblivious to what is going on around them?
I know where things are on campus from years in Residence Life, Admissions and other organizations.
I know whom to have sign what necessary forms from working in the Honors Office.
I know where the art gallery, music department and Falk Theater are because my friends have dragged me to those places on an occasion or two.
I know there is recycling behind ResCom and by every elevator in Plant Hall ‘mdash; for paper only.
These important locations, facts and opportunities shouldn’t be reserved for RAs, student employees or the overly involved.
After all, shouldn’t every student know where to throw out their trash?
Imagine the pile up in the room with students waiting for housekeeping to clean up after them.
It might be a little inconvenient, but we should all invest a few extra minutes to learn what UT has to offer.
Or at least where we’re actually allowed to live.
Find a friend who has a different major and make them take you to an academic seminar.
Take a new path to class and find out where some new buildings are.
Actually go to the Cass Gymnasium during open gym hours (What? Cass has a gym?).
This sounds crazy but maybe, if we all take that little extra leap to find out who is making decisions for us, maybe even vote in the upcoming SG elections, we’ll all actually know what the hell is going on around here.
Kadie Hayward may be reached at khayward@ut.edu.
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