I Wish FIU Would...

          I’ve noticed as I walked around the school how FIU needs minimum improvements. The Freshman and Transfer Orientations needs to be shortened. I went to the Transfer Orientation before school started, yet it was such an ennui spending 9 hours there. However, the Freshman Orientation must have been agonizing for the incoming freshman class since it lasted two days, although sleeping arrangements were provided. The food provided for both orientations definitely energized hungry students—I don’t know how the food was at the Freshman Orientation was, so I’m assuming it was the same one served at the Transfer Orientation—, but the tour around the school should be extended for  students to stretch their legs.

          Unpredictable weather mostly happens, especially pouring rain. The moist air does give a fresh, cool breeze, but the rain causes people to be nearly or completely soaked from a few raindrops or hard rain showers. One day, I had to stay in the Graham Center due to the cats and dogs weather, causing me to be late for my last class of the day and getting nearly soaked. A pathway I took to exit the DM building and arrive to the U.S. Century Bank Arena had too many trees as if I was walking through a rainforest. FIU should hand out complimentary umbrellas, just as how they would usually give free shirts, backpacks, pens/pencils, etc. Students could get sick from the rain if they don’t stay dry. If FIU can’t, there should be covers built to easily walk to another building or trim some of the trees.

          The FIU Barnes & Noble doesn’t price their products fairly, especially textbooks. School supplies and personal care items are being sold unfairly for the most ridiculous prices. The textbooks’ prices are different than the ones Barnes & Noble charge online. FIU Barnes & Noble should change the textbooks’ prices to the ones Barnes & Noble charge. The prices should be reduced for students to get better deals in purchasing things they need in order to save money and the FIU Barnes & Noble would have an increase in sales.

          So many buildings in the MMC are being built, slowly transforming into a miniature city. Many people crowd around during events or clubs sponsoring like a sale in a shopping mall. Also, there are many restaurants where delectable aromas waft from the kitchens, many delicious flavors that could make anyone’s mouth water. More buildings mean too many people, which will probably become difficult for others to move around. FIU should develop more buildings in the BBC since it’s rather smaller than the MMC, allowing more students living in the area to attend classes easily in one campus instead of going to another, thus saving money on gas or from taking the Golden Panther Shuttle Bus.

          There should be more gardens in the MMC so that there are more colors than just already familiar ones. A garden is a place where students could really relax and/or volunteer to assist in taking care of the gardens, as well as learning about responsibility. Japanese gardens are known to bring tranquility, so, FIU should make one, especially with koi ponds for everyone to enjoy watching the beautiful array of colors swimming around, including the sweet scents of nature and experience seeing new kinds of plants and/or flowers.

          Too much water builds up on the sidewalk and the grass after a rain shower on the MMC Campus. People will literally get cold feet when their shoes get wet and go to a class where a tornado must have sucked up the chill from winter and stuffed it in the classrooms. The people who mow the grasses should find a way to make sure the ground doesn’t get too wet and someone should clear away the big puddles on the sidewalk so that the students can have easier access to go quickly to class without getting their feet wet on the way.

Tying it all together

Sometimes it feels like it's difficult to connect to people, especially on the first day of entering in college. There's even times when I feel like an outcast in the campus and I'm already a sophomore. I wish they would instill some form of friend app. There's always joining clubs and being a part of sororities/ fraternities but there are people that just don't have the time to be putting their time into activities like that. The idea I had was to make some form of an application that would be able to pair up students in an orderly fashions through key words just as other social medias use hash tags. Though it seems vaguely similar to just joining a Facebook page and joining in some group this would involve the whole campus, those who choose to participate anyways. I think it would make the campus more well rounded and allow the students to expand their friendships among other panther colleagues who share the same interests as they do. The idea is still loosey goosey but if anyone could actually work on this idea I would love to hear the concepts and proposal to FIU; I really believe this could help strengthen the college community as a whole.

Our Beloved Fresh Food

I'm usually not one to complain, but I must express my dissatisfaction with certain food choices offered at fresh food.  For example, I can't be the only one that is tired of having burgers be served EVERYDAY. If I wanted a burger everyday, I can simply go to the Burger King that is less than 5 minutes away, and that burger will actually be enjoyed.

Some of the food they serve, I'm surprised is even called edible. Just today, I had some "breaded steak" that was harder to cut than cardboard. Not to mention once I finally got through the rough, crunchy exterior, the steak itself looked stale and unappealing; it looked like it was having a worst time than I was. 

Granted, there some food choices I enjoy, so it's not like fresh food is a complete fiasco, but all I ask is for them to either remove/replace these food items. Then, I won't regret spending so much for the meal plan. 

The Outrageous Price of "Required" Books

I know it's not just me when I say that the price of books for our college courses are ridiculously overpriced. I can buy a great piece of literally for less than 1/4th of the price I have to pay for a book for class. With all the costs and loans that us students already have to stress about and deal with, the last thing we should have to be paying so much for is books! It's just another added, ridiculous cost for the school to make money off of us. And I'm not even going to go into how little (if at all) we even use these "required" text books.

Next time you're thinking of shelling out  couple HUNDREDS of dollars on a textbook, do yourself a favor and get a book off of ebay.com or cheggs.com!

Student Lounge

I wish there was a student lounge where student that will be on campus for hours be able to go and get a quick nap instead of sleeping where they can find space .   Many times students have an hour or two in-between their class but the only thing they can do is ether go to a friends room or their room , the library or one of the various place where student and facility frequent . There should be a place where the student can just relax something like  the teacher lounge, but only for students, we also get tired and need t just sit down or just take a quick nap to recharge . I wish FIU would create a lounge for students.

Professors, professors, professors

There is nothing more frustrating in a university setting when you need to take a class for its credits, it’s the only one still open, and it’s only available with a professor all of your peers have told you is downright terrible. You have no choice but to endure the slow and painful semester, taking a class you would actually enjoy were it not for the completely inept educator rambling incoherence at the front of the class. I don’t understand why universities continue to allow these incompetent professors to teach when there are much more qualified people who haven’t been given the opportunity to teach simply because there are no job openings. At FIU it is practically impossible to find and upper level English class with a professor who has received good ratings from students in either the trustworthy university reviews, or the student led “ratemyprofessors” website. Professors can hate the website as much as they please, but I can say with confidence that most of the reviews found of the website have been completely true. So, in my search for a wonderful English professor for my upcoming semester, I turned to both databases and inputted in the course search criteria the last names of professors which received outstanding ratings. Imagine my despair when I find that name after name, all of these professors which students have raved about, all teach the same subjects; English 1101 and English 1102. A good 60% of the English department is filled with professors for just those two classes. I understand that freshmen classes are very large, but is it totally necessary to employ so many of these good professors just for those two classes? Not only is it not fair that only freshmen, and maybe the late transfer student, can enjoy English classes the way they’re meant to be taught, but it’s also not fair for the freshmen and transfer students who took AP English courses in high school, loved and understood the subject of Literature and Language so much that they passed the tests with 4’s and 5’s, and therefore received the credits for ENG1101 and ENG1102. So then all of the English majors are stuck taking classes with mostly mediocre professors, while every freshman that opted out of taking challenging English classes in high school get to appreciate literature and understand how to read and write from passionate and worthwhile professors. I really wish FIU would pay more attention to their English program and provide professors that actually know what they’re doing, no student should suffer through an English course when English and literature is their passion. 

Another Smoking Post

                    There is very little I can suggest as changes FIU can make, as I have very few negative experiences with professors and I rarely do anything outside of attending class. I will say that I agree when everyone says FIU has failed with its no-smoking policy. I do believe that smoking should not be allowed on campus or any public place for that matter, because of second hand smoke. The problem is there is very little that can be done to enforce it. Something that MIGHT help would be to provide smoking areas, like they do at restaurants, so at least students like me can just avoid those areas and students can smoke without bothering anyone. It probably won’t help that much, because students inconsiderate enough to smoke near other students in the first place, probably won’t go to those areas. I guess someone still needs to find a way to enforce rules.

Chocolate River

Florida International University would have to build a fountain of youth, a theme park and a chocolate river for me to feel as though they need to change something. That is not to say they don’t need to improve, but I cannot think of anything that would change my experience as a student. I am extremely satisfied with both the Math Lab and the Green Library and use them constantly. I’m complacent with the advising, availability of help on mostly any issue, the vibe and scenery of the campus, the health center’s doctors, the gym’s role in the overall fitness of their students, with classes on mostly everything, including zumba, salsa, yoga, pilates, martial arts, etc., and GC’s sanctuary for marketing, connecting and enjoyment.

I would say the only minor thing was this Fall 2012 semester, my Finite Math teacher came in the first day and said, “I don’t even know why I’m here. I’m not even a math major.” That was very discouraging and he wasn’t the greatest teacher to say the least. The university should take high priority in assigning exceptional teachers, especially in math course.

I wish they would...
                               Honestly, I don't have any complaints for FIU. Anything I try to think of either someone has already spoken about it, or there is a solution to it already on campus. Nap pods can't be argued because there's a comfortable piano room, and library. The grading styles of essays we have to write was already discussed in the Beacon yesterday. What's left? I used to complain about the advisors. They didn't really help me out, especially that "Discover your Major class", all they did was put pressure on me, I didn't feel the love and understanding. No patience for the fact that I'm young and maybe lost in this huge place of so many people and so many choices. Forget the material things that I have to achieve, what about what's beneath it all?
                              Anyways, it's inevitable that I end up doing what I believe is best for me and choosing my own path. Of course I take into consideration the warning signs the advisors put before me...but I make sure that I keep myself in mind too. It might sound selfish, but in the end it's who is going to be put into the career or job. Live your lives with the smallest price. ;)
     Happy Saturday! 

Lounge Space

FIU has a large community of commuter students. As a commuter, I often find myself passing time between classes with nowhere to go. Because I don’t live on campus I can’t just retreat to a dorm room when I have free time. Often I want to do homework between classes, but I wish there were more places fro commuters to relax on campus. I know that the Graham Center is large with lots of places to sit, but it’s always so busy and noisy. The library is a good place to study, but I think a place with more couches and a comfortable atmosphere should exist. Perhaps there should be a lounge made just for commuters. It would not only present a space for commuters to go to, but a place where commuters could meet other commuters. This would facilitate community on campus. On a campus with such a large community of commuters, why isn’t there space dedicated to just them?

Resources

I wish enrolling for classes were done differently. I’m a transfer student so at the beginning of this year even though I’m in my sophomore year of college I was given the LAST day to register for classes. I realize that an order must be given and that we can’t all logon at the same time. The server would crash. I do however think that it’s unfair that my advisor told me I needed to take certain classes and that they were no longer offered at that point. I often here people complaining of similar issues at FIU. There are so many students and not enough resources offered. I was told I had to take a class, yet there were not enough seats. I’m told I have to park in a certain section in our parking garages, yet there are absolutely no empty spaces past 11 am in any of them. I wish FIU’s resources were as plentiful as there students. 

Sheltered Walkways

Not all of the buildings in FIU are connected by a sort of walk way with a shelter.  This becomes an issue when it's a rainy day on campus.  For example, one of the first days of this semester I got caught waiting 45 minutes under PCA because that building does not have a sheltered walkway to any other buildings.  Therefore, I was late to my lab class.

I wish they would create sheltered walkways that connect all buildings together that would eliminate the use of carrying umbrellas and allow students to not have to worry about the rain and making it to class on time.

Change Graham Center!

I Wish They Would (FIU)

I may be alone in my belief, but it is my belief and I feel I must express it. I wish the main hallway in the Graham Center wasn't always the marathon of avoiding solicitations it is every day. I understand that many great organizations spread their word this way, but couldn't it be somewhere else? I have to pass through the Graham Center every day and I'm constantly being stopped by people that want me to take a survey or contribute to their cause. “Buy a cookie to stop Al-Qaeda?” No honey, not today. Not ever. “Would you like to take a survey about urinal cakes?” Why would anyone?

I recognize my complaint is an utterly selfish one. I'm almost definitely overreacting, but I feel there is some truth in my words. Perhaps I get approached more than other people. I've always felt I'm pretty easily approachable. Maybe I'm just not very menacing, and people don't feel threatened to take some of my time. Even more troubling, I think I may be partially to blame for all the solicitations I receive as I pass through GC. Regrettably, I often make eye contact with people who are selling sweets or recruiting for clubs as I barrel through the crowd (Barrel might be a bit much. Maybe more like: get pushed around by people taller than me). I believe this eye contact leads them to think I may be interested. Spoiler alert! I am not.

Okay, so maybe I'm being a bit harsh. I'm sure those clubs and organizations do quite a bit of good and need GC to spread their word. However, I believe many would agree that party and club promoters have no place in the Graham Center. Of course, college is a time for partying and revelry of all sorts, but one of the most frequented buildings in the university should not be used as promotional space for things like a “Bro Safari”. I'm not making that one up. I have no idea what a “Bro Safari” is, but I already see bros in their natural habitat daily, so such an event is really unnecessary. At the risk of sounding too ready for compromise, I think that there should at least be some monitoring of the kind of things being promoted in the Graham Center- not because I think they're inappropriate or crass, but because they annoy me. Is that a selfish view? Probably. Will anyone listen to me? I wish they would.

The Limited Programs at the FIU School of Music

I didn't know much about the FIU School of Music before I auditioned. I assumed they would have, at least, a small range of music programs like many schools (like UM) do. However, I was astonished to when I tried out.
I auditioned with a song I composed myself (lyrically and musically) and I was happy with my audition performance. Then, the professors evaluating me shocked me by saying that although they "enjoyed" my performance I had to be able to sing in Italian and French. Also, that I could only audition with classical music!
I couldn't believe the music program was as small and narrow-minded as it is!
They then tried to assure me that I could possibly audition for Jazz (mind you I sing folk). They then topped it off by saying that the Jazz program was especially new, meaning it was not developed at all. They could barely even give me any information for it!
Basically, the school of music is so underdeveloped that they literally had no place for me. While other schools have plenty of different genres of programs to fit in to.
I was not about to limit myself to classical or jazz so gave up the idea of auditing again (under their limited standards) and ended up majoring in Communication and Performing Arts.
They really need to get their stuff together and expand, especially in this day in age!

Victim blaming from "empowering" FIU Victim Empowerment group

One of the things that most bother me about FIU is the literature passed out by many organizations and honor societies. However, this isn't a matter of personal taste in graphic design, but in media that presents both a false and Tyson Dino-nugget image of an organization. N.O.W. at FIU does a wonderful job in many aspects. I applaud them for their ability to remain as a feminist group on campus despite the ongoing pressure of society to silence themselves. However, I've noticed over time that many of the pamphlets they provide at events, such as at the Victim Empowerment circus earlier this year, promote ideologies and power structures that neither fit the feminist thought pattern nor serve themselves as helpful to survivors of sexual assault. These pamphlets, usually designed with some 50s' clip art in mind, outline many of the ways you *shouldn't* get raped, which promotes victim blaming and further strengthens the just world phenomenon, instead of breaking the perimeters of what it means to be raped and to be a rapist. I think these pamphlets are hurtful, especially when rapes on college campuses occur in situations where people find that the survivor has "deserved it", be it drinking, at a party, etc.