Spring Break
Rec sports initiative not another pointless fee
Dwight Wozich
Issue date: 5/19/09 Section: Forum
I want to take a step back from the usual political candor of my columns and appeal to the student body to vote in support of the Student Recreation and Sports Field Complex and McAlexander Fieldhouse Improvements proposals this coming Wednesday and Thursday. In my opinion, both of these projects represent one of the few chances OSU students have to create something that benefits the entire student body.
So often it seems like Oregon State students are required to dole out significant amounts of money in student fees that go toward various projects and programs that really don't give us a clear idea of where our money is being spent.
For example, students incur roughly $100 in technology fees per term. How many times have you wasted the first 15 to 20 minutes of class waiting because your professor can't get the classroom projector to turn on or the sound to work on the speakers? Sometimes you'll spend another five to 10 minutes waiting for somebody to run over from technology services to get the equipment to work.
I'm sure most of us would like to know why we are spending $100 per term for services that underperform on a regular basis. It's almost like paying protection money to the university so it can "fix" issues that are guaranteed to be a problem in the first place.
Another laughable cost students pay are building fees. This amounts to roughly $40 to $60 of our bill per term. Unless you are an engineering major and you have class in the beautiful, new Kelley Engineering Center, it is really hard to discern exactly what we're paying for.
As a lowly history major, many of my classes take place in Milam Hall. There are few buildings on campus that compare to Milam in terms of the decrepit nature of their classrooms. Milam's classrooms have two different temperatures, hot and scorching.
In the winter, you can expect to be cooked out of your wits by the Hades-like temperatures created by the building's antiquated boiler system. During the warm spring months, taking a class in Milam is a great way to lose weight. You are guaranteed to drop 10 to 12 pounds in sweat after sitting in one of the classrooms due to no air conditioning and horrible airflow. The only way to make the rooms bearable is to try and force open one of windows, exposing the class to all the noise and hubbub from the various fundraising and philanthropic projects that plague the MU quad during spring term.
So often it seems like Oregon State students are required to dole out significant amounts of money in student fees that go toward various projects and programs that really don't give us a clear idea of where our money is being spent.
For example, students incur roughly $100 in technology fees per term. How many times have you wasted the first 15 to 20 minutes of class waiting because your professor can't get the classroom projector to turn on or the sound to work on the speakers? Sometimes you'll spend another five to 10 minutes waiting for somebody to run over from technology services to get the equipment to work.
I'm sure most of us would like to know why we are spending $100 per term for services that underperform on a regular basis. It's almost like paying protection money to the university so it can "fix" issues that are guaranteed to be a problem in the first place.
Another laughable cost students pay are building fees. This amounts to roughly $40 to $60 of our bill per term. Unless you are an engineering major and you have class in the beautiful, new Kelley Engineering Center, it is really hard to discern exactly what we're paying for.
As a lowly history major, many of my classes take place in Milam Hall. There are few buildings on campus that compare to Milam in terms of the decrepit nature of their classrooms. Milam's classrooms have two different temperatures, hot and scorching.
In the winter, you can expect to be cooked out of your wits by the Hades-like temperatures created by the building's antiquated boiler system. During the warm spring months, taking a class in Milam is a great way to lose weight. You are guaranteed to drop 10 to 12 pounds in sweat after sitting in one of the classrooms due to no air conditioning and horrible airflow. The only way to make the rooms bearable is to try and force open one of windows, exposing the class to all the noise and hubbub from the various fundraising and philanthropic projects that plague the MU quad during spring term.
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