Editor in Chief's parting thoughts for university
It seems like I’ve spent an eternity at Central Michigan University.
Yet, even after five years, it is so difficult to believe it’s all about to end.
Next week, I will join a few thousand others at Kelly/Shorts Stadium in donning the black cap and gown as a tired but proud graduate of this university.
Just a few weeks ago, I handed in my application to work at CM Life, then sent an e-mail to then-editor Chad Livengood, now a political reporter at the Springfield News-Leader in Missouri, telling him I am dedicated to making his newspaper better.
And when I say ‘a few weeks,’ I mean four-and-a-half years.
But it sure doesn’t seem that long ago.
A time of change
Since fall 2005, two residence halls were built, the football team won three Mid-American Conference championships, a medical college was approved and tuition increased 57.7 percent.
That last item is particularly striking to me.
I was among the first students to receive the CMU Promise’s fixed tuition guarantee for my entire college stay. But because the state went deeper into recession and the university could only raise tuition for freshmen, CMU turned into one of the most expensive of Michigan’s 15 public universities.
I chose this place mostly for its cheap tuition (at the time). And I’m not the only one.
Now it costs $339 per credit hour, plus the inevitable July increase for 2010-11 students, to take classes here. Combine that with department cuts and wear and tear of the facilities, and you have what realistically is a devalued college experience.
Central Michigan Life, thankfully, helped pad my résumé in ways a classroom never would have. But most students don’t have the opportunity of gaining work experience across the hall. Most have to maintain Summa Cum Laude grades and cross their fingers to get a call back from an internship coordinator.
This is why I worry greatly for this university. It needs to keep its eyes wide and its money closer to the chest. Building a $25-million medical college, to me, is a slap in the face to other prestigious programs on campus that desperately need money to move forward.
goodbye to the community
Almost every day, I hear a CMU student criticize Mount Pleasant — not enough places to shop. No big attractions. It’s in the middle of nowhere.
Let’s face it — Mount Pleasant is not an ideal career destination for most, unless you’re good at dealing cards or serving drinks. But to say any of that is looking at the city in the wrong context.
The true beauty of attending college is crashing into people from all walks of life and making connections you never dreamed possible. Besides — it’s easy to call a town of 23,000 boring on an idle Monday night, but there are a ton of well-kept secrets here, if you look for them.
To every professor, student, adviser and colleague I’ve come in contact with the last five years — thank you.
I may be turning to a new page in my life, but I certainly won’t forget this one.
