As students at the College of Wooster, we are paying $45,668 a year to attend this school, so I’m sure we’ll always be complaining that we aren’t getting enough for our money. The food is terrible, library hours are basically non-existent, and the Wire(less) Scot has two computers. But just because we’re used to complaining about things doesn’t mean that we should ignore the improvements that the College has made for its student body this academic year.
As the new class of First-Years settles in ó all 625 of them ó the College had to start listening to students’ concerns or we literally would be living in cardboard boxes on Spink Street like we anticipated. ResLife re-opened Holden Annex so another class of students could have a love-hate relationship with its cozy quarters and extremely thin walls. It moved Greeks to Program houses and gave Bissman a much needed sprucing up for the incoming students. Although changing the long-standing tradition of Bissman as all-Greek housing saddened many members of the Greek community, this move gave the Greeks the opportunity to live the same way most other schools house their Greeks.
Last year, with the beloved Kittredge Dining Hall closed, students thought that lines at Lowry were long. Coming back this year many students were worried that eating wouldn’t even be an option. But Wooster surprised students by solving the problem before it even became one. First, they cleaned up the old Java Hut stand, opening a Sub Stop where students can grab a quick lunch using a meal swipe. Next, they created the already infamous Scot Dog stand that students can find at a different location every day serving hot dogs for Flex Dollars. They have also re-opened Kittredge for lunch, which means the return of Soup & Bread at its original location. These new options, in addition to the C-Store, Lowry and Old Main, eating meals hasn’t been the huge chore it was anticipated to be.
Arguably, the best improvement Wooster has made still seems too good to be true ó free laundry.† The “unlimited laundry service” ó which the College informed students about in a newsletter over the summer is a poorly-worded miracle that makes me jealous that the first-years get to spend another three years here. All of the quarters that I spent my summer scrounging for can now be used for what they were meant for ó pop machines and parking meters. And, by changing the washers and dryers to free-to-use, high efficiency machines, students are not the only ones reaping the benefits. In an article for wisegeek.com, Holly Collins reports that high efficiency washers use up to 40 percent less water and 50 to 60 percent less energy than traditional washing machines.
Looking out onto the pile of rubble that used to be the PEC, it is clear that the College is in a period of transition. But for a place that students are paying $45,668 to go to, transition should be expected. When I visited Wooster my senior year of high school, the tour guides proudly showed off the newly renovated parts of Kauke. And, I’m sure alumni that graduated four years ago would never guess that Babcock is now one of the nicest dorms on campus. The fast renovation that the College did on that dorm updated it completely.
Students must also remember that flex-dollars and to-go boxes are still a recent phenomenon. We could still be living on the three-swipes-a-day rule where dining-in was your only option. Now at least we can get our “grilled” ó a.k.a. partially warmed ó cheese sandwich in a box to enjoy somewhere other than the cafeteria.
Our college is constantly making big changes, like construction and renovations and small changes, like adjusting programs and adding services. It is our job to be critical ó that’s how change happens ó but we also have to remember to take a step back and appreciate what we have.
Hannah Diorio-Toth is a Viewpoints editor for the Voice. She can be reached for comment at HDiorio-Toth11@wooster.edu.