To The Editor:
When I first came to USM, I thought that it was a pretty decent place. Sure it had its little problems, but what place doesn’t. Now that my freshman year is almost complete, I honestly don’t think I want to return next year.
It all started with the parking fee hike. I honestly did not understand why the fees had to be raised so drastically. I will not go further into detail concerning this issue, for I have already written a letter about my views.
The next thing to get me even more worked up was the proposed hike in the activity fee. I would be all for this, but what upset me is that it is claimed that students complain about there being nothing to do on campus. This is true. However, that can be easily solved. There are events that do take place, but they do not cater to the interests of the majority of USM students.
Yes, some students would like to attend an African Drumming session, but the majority of them would not. Instead of using the money generated from the current activity fee on events that are unpopular and unsuccessful, use the money on events that will generate interest and get students to become more involved. Raising the activity fee will not make students more interested in the Geoscience club if they have no desire to participate in it in the first place.
Continuing on events that interest students, USM made a huge mistake in rejecting the MTV proposal to hold a Campus Invasion concert. This is a colossal mistake for several reasons. Concerts appeal more to students than information sessions with doctors and policemen do.
This would have been a great opportunity for USM to involve its residential community, as well as commuter community, as a whole. The concert would have also served as a sort of advertisement for USM. People from as far as northern Maine, Canada, and even perhaps New York and Massachusetts would travel for a chance to see the great line-up of bands that the concert was offering.
If someone was debating whether to attend UMaine, Orono, or USM, perhaps something of this caliber would have persuaded them that they would rather come to USM. They might have reasoned that UMaine, Orono doesn’t have events like this.
One reason why the concert was rejected was because they were concerned about parking. First of all, have you seen the parking lots by Dickey-Wood and Philippi when there are baseball and softball games going on? Outside community members take it into their hands to park wherever they want to.
This past Sunday, I saw several students have to park near the freshman parking lot because visitors took up the majority of the parking lots by Dickey-Wood and Philippi.
Spectators for the basketball games at the Gym were taking up the majority of the parking spots there as well. We pay money to be able to park on the USM campus, when visitors are free to come in and take higher priority and park wherever they please.
What’s worse is I didn’t see any USM police putting tickets on the un-decaled vehicles. If that would have been my car parked there without a decal on a non-game day, you bet I would have had a ticket under my wiper blade.
I would, however, be willing to sacrifice parking for a concert, as most college students would. Though not all students like the kind of music that this concert would have offered, more students are likely to go to a concert than a yoga class.
Now, the Campus Invasion concert would crowd parking for one night, yes, but it would be worth it. Concert-goers get hungry and thirsty and want souvenirs of their journey. USM could have profited from this event.
Also, another “worry” was that the field would have been destroyed. In the last edition of The Free Press, in the crime section, there was a report of unauthorized use of construction equipment, resulting in several hundred dollars worth of damage.
Who is to say that those same people won’t take the bulldozer from the construction site and tear up the field? Honestly, I don’t see any logical reasoning behind the turndown of the MTV offer. Hopefully, if MTV offers to come to USM next year, USM will realize that the concert is worth hosting.
My last issue is dealing with having to pay to print at the computer labs on campus. Let me ask one question: What the hell is the technology fee for?
It is for use of the computers, correct? Doesn’t most school-related use of a computer involve printing of some sort? If someone doesn’t have a personal computer, and needs to type a paper, doesn’t he or she need to print it out to pass it in? That means that he or she must pay for the paper they use to print their mandatory assignment. How awful is that?
It’s like punishing people because they do not have their own computer. Not only do they need to pay a technology fee to use the computer, they need to fork money over again to print their work out! What next? Are we going to have to insert quarters into our door locks every time we want to lock our door?
These little fees, fee increases, and excuses are becoming more and more ridiculous as the school year progresses. Pretty soon it will cost just as much to attend USM as it does to attend a more prestigious, private school, such as Saint Joseph’s, which is a mere twenty minute drive away. Perhaps there will be more interesting things to do and events to attend over there too.
Cheri Collin
Freshman, psychology major