by Chris Bonshor (Copy Editor)
Email: cascade.news[at]ufv.ca
As many of you may know, the Globe and Mail recently released the results of university ratings for Canada. UFV did quite well for its category.
However, as I walk around campus, I can’t help but notice a few things that I think we can work on together to improve our post-secondary institution – just because we go to an institution does not mean we deserve to be institutionalized or should act like we do.
Let me start by saying that I really like our school. Not love, but strong like (I don’t really believe in human-building relations). I know that at least one person has argued that it is an aging, modernist, piece-of-junk-to-look-at kinda place, but that does not really detract from the experience that one can have within its walls. Therefore, I want to propose a few things to improve this place.
Firstly, cigarettes. I don’t smoke, don’t understand it and probably never will. However, I do respect smokers and their right to smoke. They, more than any other sort -of special group of people, have taken a lot of flack in recent years for their danger-loving lifestyle. That said, I really don’t like seeing cigarette butts strewn all over the ground around doors, along paths and in parking lots. The other day, I saw a guy smoking right beside a container full of sand for cigarette butts. Rather than use this piece of cleanliness-inducing-hardware, the fellow merely dropped his butt on the ground, stepped on it and walked away. Sadness overwhelmed me, but you can help, my smoking comrades! Use the receptacles, they are everywhere. Merci.
Secondly, gum. Like cigarette buts, but probably to a greater extent, old gum literally encrusts the walkways around campus. It kind of looks like our paths and parking lots has some sort of pox (not a good thing). Come on, people! How about we don’t spit in public, but, instead, put it in the garbage. Here is how it is done. Either you spit the gum directly into the garbage, or you put your hand to your mouth, gently spit the gum into it and then place said gum into a garbage can. Much obliged.
Thirdly, I want to talk to all of you caffeine addicts about campus. There are many, many of you, and, while I risk incurring the wrath of a lot of wired and stressed out people who are on the edge, I feel that we should talk about your behaviour. Please don’t leave your empty drink containers wherever you were last sitting. Please don’t come back from a class break late because you were in the crazy-long line at Timmy’s trying to get your fix along with all of the caffeine addicts. It is a drug, people; a chemical dependency. Think about that next time you are going to reach for your third cup of the day. The more you drink, the more you will want/need to drink. Rise above! It is for your own good, thanks.
I could rip on the cafeteria at this point, but I think that there is nothing I could say about the good people (wink) of Sodexo that has not already been thought of by just about anyone who has ever eaten on campus, been to the cafeteria or, heaven help you, had to eat there regularly (plus I do not want to belittle my fellow students and the hardworking people who work there). UFV received a C- for food on campus – time for new management?
Well, there you have it: three easy things to fix that will make our campus a nicer place to be, and one thing that would require a major change. Thank you all for reading and have a fantastic, UFV-campus day!
