The battle of annoyance
Here at Washington University there seems to be a constant strand of annoyance that we as students must endure daily. So here are just a few to begin your week on a pensive note:
First, Bauhaus has been an institution of a party the last three years of my life. And, despite its late arrival this year, it seemed to be a popular choice for Saturday night’s festivities. However, a ticket is needed for this great spectacle. This is where the problem lies. Every year since my freshman year, way back when, the School of Architecture has run out of tickets to this joyous occasion. What baffles me is the need for the tickets. Are the tickets really that necessary? If they are really necessary, make more tickets. Or if for some reason you can’t due to fire codes, University code, or some other silly little code, find a larger venue to accommodate the crowd that tries to get in every year.
Second, I’m in the School of Art. With this choice comes a whole other set of annoyances that much of the student body doesn’t have to deal with. For instance, students of both art and architecture have one place to get food during the day. The Art-Arch Cart, or Doris Cart as some call it (after the fabulous woman who works the food Mecca of the Sam Fox School of Design), carries soups, sandwiches and an assortment of pastries and delectable goodies. However, it is only open until 2:30 PM. This only covers half of the average art student’s day. After that, art and architecture students must resort to the vending machines, which would be made much easier if, say, the card readers actually worked. Lastly, the University just built two new buildings, which could have easily included some sort of food accommodation to the art and architecture students who put in long hours in their studios, but neither carry anything more than a vending machine (and I’m not even sure if they carry that).
Third, I live in the Loop Lofts. While my actual living situation is very comfortable, there are a couple of additional annoyances to living here as well. The gated parking lot, which is meant to keep the residents and their cars safe when moving to and from the parking lot, is a pain to enter and exit. The gate frequently doesn’t work and has recently been prone to close early on someone’s car. The card reader is insanely far away from the average person’s window, so the resident often has to leave their car to open the gates, which is not an ideal situation when it’s 2 a.m. Also, the shuttle schedule on weekends is a little ridiculous. It doesn’t start running until noon and only comes once an hour. This means that if you have somewhere to be before noon, you have to find other means of transportation. And, if you have an engagement after noon, you either have to be there really early or really late.
Last, why does our school always insist on putting the luxury of its benefactors before the needs of its students? About two weeks ago, the aforementioned new buildings were dedicated. To prepare for the arrival, Bixby Hall was painted from the first floor to the third floor, during classes. The painters dredged in and out. The construction workers were drilling and jack hammering. Now tell me, how many of you can concentrate on anything with a jackhammer going to town on the wall right outside of your classroom? During this time, both the Givens and Walker parking lots were closed. Being the only two parking lots for commuting art students and teachers, it proved very difficult to find parking for the better part of a week. With all the distractions going on, how was anyone supposed to concentrate? I realize that benefactors financially make up most of the money we use. But, those people would still donate if they had to go inside a new building rather than a massive parking lot-sized structure instead. It’s infuriating at times.
Overall, I must say that these are the opinions of a minority on campus, i.e. art students and Loop Lofts residents. And, for that matter, it may only be my opinion. But, without anyone discussing the things that annoy them, they will never be part of a discussion for change. So, while these matters are not of great importance to many, some are very important to the very hungry art student or the person who gets a headache from the sound of a jackhammer on concrete. Whether it is something as simple as saying “this is annoying” or as complicated as proposing a solution to global warming, it is always important to be part of the conversation. With that said, here comes the shameless plug: write to me (the e-mail address is below!). I would love to hear what annoys you.
Chelsea is a junior in the School of Art and a Forum Editor. She can be reached via e-mail at [email protected]
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