Senior clearance time. It’s a reminder of how much time I actually have left here. Thirty-two credits to go and counting. Get a couple of signatures make a little small talk with your advisors, and you’re on your way. It’s that time of year when everyone wants to give you tips on how you should live your life and what the future could be like. However, before I graduate I thought President Freeland should get some tips from me.
Our school is on its own campaign to promote itself. Ads for Northeastern in the New York Times this summer and 30 second promos in Fenway Park during the baseball season made me realize how much money is going in the wrong direction.
The amount of money NU spent on advertisements would not be disclosed in a Northeastern News interview last week; however President Freeland sees the marketing campaign as an asset to bringing in more students and raising the quality of students accepted.
But NU is seriously neglecting major problems that need attention. Perhaps the administration should focus its efforts elsewhere.
Art department majors have complained about the lack of direction they’re receiving in the co-op department. Are they on co-op in the winter or are they taking classes? It’s still up in the air for many students who are in limbo wondering if they should fix their resumes or register for classes.
With the extra ad money left, fixing semester conversion problems and revamping the co-op department the university claims to invest so much time into wouldn’t be a bad idea. Get co-op advisors who care and better relationships between Boston-based companies so that students aren’t left with entry level jobs that don’t require any sort of intelligence. Fund the co-op department in such a way that it becomes more like an internship and a learning experience, not a nine-to-five slacker job. We’re number one for a reason, so let’s start acting like it.
Tenuring professors: Instead of tenuring professors to improve their academic career and reputation, tenure professors who are respected and improve our quality of education and who want to be here. If they don’t like being here, we see it. And then we don’t like being here either.
Enhance departments: Invest money into the school of journalism to get better computers with the latest software. The school could start a broadcast school of journalism with the latest tools necessary in the broadcasting field which would attract more students.
The architecture school would also benefit from some attention as well. A space near Ruggles Station isn’t enough.
Foreign language: I heard through the grapevine that the foreign language department could use some retooling. Put some money into these departments so that our students can speak these languages with confidence, not hesitation. Apparently, students are only receiving basic grammar and writing skills and are not perfecting the language until they leave for study abroad. Perhaps, giving students a more hands-on training and encouraging professors to teach languages beyond text book skills would be beneficial.
The Lane Health Center: Customer service and quality of health care must improve. We’re not skipping class to stand in line for hours for fun.
Pay the janitors: Pay those who keep our campus neat and clean. Wouldn’t want to disappoint perspective students who are taking tours of the school because of those clever NU ads, now would you?
Dining: Cater to student’s needs. Due to dietary restrictions some students eat kosher or halal foods and some eat vegetarian foods. We need the administration to adhere to the students wishes and come up with wider varieties of foods in the cafeterias and student center.
Extermination: Mice are everywhere and it’s only going to get worse. Whether you’re in luxurious Davenport or old-fashioned Burstein, the creepy creatures are unavoidable. Let’s get more than just mousetraps for our students suffering from paranoia, squeaky sounds and mice evidence. Building Services could use that money for extermination.
Graduation speaker: Spend the big bucks for someone worth listening to on graduation day. Not just anybody named after a building on this campus. Keep us awake on graduation day.
A red carpet: Give students the royal treatment they deserve instead of laying out the red carpet for the princess of Greece who is attending NU this year.
Hearing aid: For President Freeland. The students are speaking. Maybe it’s time you listened.
