Doesn’t it seem like Hyland hall is
so amazing, and ALL the other buildings are way less than amazing? I mean
Winther is so old and gross it isn’t even welcoming when you walk into that
building. This also goes towards Heidi, Anderson Library, McGraw, and
Hyer. I don’t expect the school to make new buildings all around or
anything, but at least make the buildings comfortable to be in. Some of
the chairs have to be from the 1950’s if not later, like the bright colored
ones in Winther hall, what is up with that? As well, why can’t they make
the classroom have more comfortable chairs, better white boards, and higher
technology computers like Hyland. Hyland hall makes all of the rest of
the buildings look cheap, and with simple updates to the other buildings the
students would be living in a much better environment. Even simply
putting a food stand in all of the halls would make then more acceptable.
Sometimes I am embarrassed to take my friends from out of town into any
building other than Hyland, because they just don’t look like they even look
nearly as remarkable as Hyland. They need to make all the buildings at
least acceptable and welcoming to the students so I don’t always have to find
joy in seeing the School of Business.
The reason they were able to build Hyland is because Timothy J. Hyland donated a crap ton of money to the school to build it. Carlson hall is being renovated and actually the name is changing because... oh wait, someone donated another crap ton of money for it to be done.
ReplyDeleteUpdating technology, is a process. You can't just expect everything to be updated overnight and wam-bam it's done. Their is a method to the school's crazy and you just have to go with it. If you're so concerned about Winther, get some money, donate, and maybe the school can update everything to your standards. When it comes to renovations though, it's not up to the University alone. The UW system has a say, and the state of WI has a say, from I've been told.
Still have a problem? Go to WSG, talk to someone. Blogging is a good way to relieve the stress, sure, but you have to SPEAK UP if it's that much of a problem. Simple as that.
As for food? That's a Dining Services issue. Do you know how many loops and holes, and regulations, and safety standards they have to go through just to even ask for a food place? The renovation of Drumlin started Years ago and they only just got approved for the go ahead a couple years ago. That needed updated because everything in that building was an original it was going to be a health violation if they didn't renovate soon.
Didn't know any of that? Go to RHA (Residence Hall Association) meetings.
It's beneficial to get involved because you get in the loop.
Hyland is representative of what is happening around the country and even, I am told, around the world. In terms of Orwell's Animal Farm, all faculty are equal, but some (business faculty/Orwell's pigs) are more equal than others. Besides the noticeably superior building, check out the pay discrepancies. For teaching often fewer courses, business faculty can earn double what their colleagues in L&S make. There is absolutely no concept of equal pay for equal work. This should be a campus (and academic) scandal, but it is not. To extend the Animal Farm metaphor, faculty are sheep.
ReplyDeleteA lot of the money used for these updates is donated by Alumni. The alumni center phones all of their alumni each semester and asks for donations. People who have graduated from the business school generally have more money than those from all of the other schools so their donations are larger and there are more of them.
ReplyDeleteIt would be disrespectful to spend these people's money in a different way in which they asked. This is why the business school is so fancy. Wealthy business successes are financing it through donations to the university.
Certainly some of the buildings are outdated, and it is an issue in terms of providing a positive and inviting place for learning. I've talked about Winther with several people and all are of the opinion that for an education and psychology building, the drab, windowless, dark-hued rooms are an affront to what anyone in either field would expect of a learning or psychologically nurturing environment.
ReplyDeleteI work in the basement of McCutchen (since you didn't mention it, I'd recommend a trip over to see for comparison's sake) and have had many people say that it is creepy, with long, dimly lit hallways. Some rooms were recently renovated with, of course, new technology such as smartboards and such, but the department will ultimately be housed in the newly renovated space of Carlson - a welcome change since we'll be moving out of the creepy basement into a fully windowed space.
Over my years of working there and attending classes in other buildings, I've learned to grin and bear it to focus on my reasons for being there: to learn and teach. The other commentators are right when they say it's a game of dollars, and if every request of students, faculty, and staff was addressed, we wouldn't have any faculty or staff to run the university due to lack of funding! Yeah, it's not the greatest, but can you bear it?
Other than Hyland Hall and Hyer, most of the campus is a dump, broken elevators and dirty halls in Heide, broken equipment in Whinther. MATC has better facilities. McCutcheon is a dump and should be torn down, but this is where they house most of the minority programs. A student and/or faculty should not have to exist in such decrepit conditions. I can name many colleges on the same level as Whitewater with much better facilities. This is not a very attractive campus, even the town sucks.
ReplyDeleteIf you think UWW and even the town here is dump, leave. Go somewhere else. No one is making you stay here.
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