Our great university
Thanks to quite a few recent articles in The Diamondback, I'm starting to think I am one of the few people who really loves this school. I honestly cannot think of any other university I would rather be attending, and I hope students think about all the great things about this university instead of the recent trend of faults. So what are some of those great things?
Education: Honestly, Maryland residents get an incredible education for the money. The engineering and business schools are world class. I don't know every department, but a large number of the departments have led to this school being ranked 18th of national public universities. We have incredible professors here doing ground-breaking research, and even as an undergraduate, it's easy to participate in the many labs on the campus.
Fun: College is supposed to be fun, and the opportunities for fun are everywhere on this campus. There are clubs for just about everything you enjoy doing, and although we're not the biggest party school, our night life isn't bad. I don't think I've ever wanted to go out at night and not had options. My favorite place is the Eppley Recreation Center, which is absolutely incredible. The weight room is the best I've ever been in; we have a rock wall that is free to students and a trip program that can take you to the incredible caves, mountains and rivers that are right next door
Atmosphere: The location of this campus is great for those who love both cities and the outdoors. We can go out to the ocean one week and climb a mountain the next. We get to enjoy sunny summers, snowy winters and everything in between on a beautiful campus. We are on a campus that is an arboretum and has a farm, historic buildings and a nuclear reactor. But what really makes the atmosphere is the people. Our diverse campus has places for everyone to fit in.
I realize that there are problems with this university, and I hope that safety, housing and parking continue to improve for when my little brother comes here. But when I stop and think about it, I come back to how much I love this university, and I hope that everyone takes some time to realize how great we really have it.
Jon Facemire Junior Mechanical engineering
The city council's helpfulness
College Park District 3 Councilwoman Stephanie Stullich recently put forward a proposal to punish repeat noise violators more harshly, which was swiftly criticized by student residents of College Park ("Noise complaint," April 22). I write today to praise another move she recently made on behalf of student residents, specifically my housemates and me.
Back at the beginning of the semester, The Diamondback printed a letter in which I complained about College Park's new policy on how to issue visitor parking permits for permit-required neighborhoods ("The war on parking," Feb. 14). In the past, residents could keep a supply of visitor permits at home and validate them for one day by writing the date on the permit. The city then changed its policy so that it would only issue permits with the date already filled in, requiring a trip to city hall when a visitor shows up unexpectedly. When I wrote about this to my representatives on the city council, Ms. Stullich's response was an unhelpful defense of the city's new policy and a suggestion that I move my car out of my driveway to let my guests park there (except I don't have a driveway, so that wouldn't work). Meanwhile, my other representative on the council, Mark Cook, did not bother to respond at all.
Recently, Ms. Stullich went out of her way to write me a letter informing me that the city recently redesigned its visitor parking permits and now allows residents to keep a supply in our homes until they are needed. She could have remained silent and let me learn this on my own, but Ms. Stullich admirably demonstrated the kind of constituent service that should be expected from any elected official. Mr. Cook would be wise to emulate her example.
Jon Steingart Senior Criminology and criminal justice, sociology
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