Changes are instituted every year as the school administration sees fit. In order to improve the quality of education and life at Elizabethtown College, those changes span all areas of the school, from education to athletics and everything in between. Without fail, these improvements are included in the “best of Etown” highlights that are mentioned during every tour of the College. These features set the College apart from similar schools and, hopefully, attract students to the campus.
Some of these changes better the campus community greatly, making necessities more available to students and faculty. Some of the accommodations that have been made to help the students include access to the library until 1 a.m., 24-hour access to and added resources in the Brossman Student Commons, along with constant improvements made to dorms and classroom buildings.
The positive changes made to campus are balanced out by some that have less-than-satisfactory effects on the College’s population. These improvements are often beneficial at first glance but frequently fall short of the hype created around them. Recently, many of these ineffectual “improvements” have gotten plenty of attention. Some of the most noticeable problems that have arisen are connected to the new computers in the BSC, the heated stairs at the library, vending machines that read IDs and the lack of elevators in dorm buildings.
1. New BSC computers
The computers were updated to be faster, allowing more students to use them at all times of the day. During congested times (i.e. before 12:30 classes), logging on to the old computers often takes more time than the work that the students use the computers for. Besides not proving themselves faster than their older counterparts, the new computers often lock students out, report that a firewall is in place and block access. After the hassle of getting a computer, students may spend half an hour typing and retyping their username and password, only to find that some unidentified firewall is in place.
2. Heated stairs to library
In theory, doesn’t this idea sound spectacular? I couldn’t agree more. Knowing that the research that I am required to do won’t be unavailable because of snow is comforting, especially considering the winter that Etown has been experiencing. Now think about it; it is snowing very heavily, the temperature is only just in the positives and you have a paper due tomorrow. Don’t worry: the library steps are clean of snow and ice. But the entire walk from your dorm room to the library isn’t, and the snow is still falling. Since you really need to get this work done, you consider it, only to realize that most of the articles in the library are available on the library’s website. Now, after the snow has stopped and you are headed to the library to do the research you need to get done, no one actually walks up the center. Most people seem to enter from the sides of the building, trekking through the snow rather than taking the extra three steps to the center aisle. Great in theory doesn’t always translate to great in practice.
3. Swipe card machines
Some of the most useful advice my dad gave me when I came to college was “Don’t use the vending machines.” The option to use my ID rather than cash opened up the possibility of getting food, even if I have no money. Of course, I saw the $200 charges on my account at the end of the semester, so I began to understand my dad’s advice. Unfortunately, when I do decide that I want something from the vending machines when I’m studying in the middle of the night, my card doesn’t read and I can’t get something to eat. It never ends.
4. Dorm ramps, without
elevators
The College has been criticized for its lack of accommodations for handicapped and injured students. But the ramps leading to the buildings are an improvement, right? Having handicapped access to the buildings is only the beginning of the solution. They would be useful, if only students using crutches didn’t have to swing themselves up the stairs because there are no elevators. I understand that the cost of such improvements is astronomical, but there must be a middle ground. The accommodations made for these students fall short of acceptable. The minor changes that were made to campus barely satisfy the needs of the students they are trying to aid.
I have no doubt that the intentions of those responsible for these and other similar decisions are always in the best interest of the students. However, the best intentions don’t always spawn the best plans. Consider this: what could Etown really improve with the money spent on the heated stairs? Or the new-less-than-useful computers? Maybe the elevators that the dorms desperately need or more tools and staff to handle emergency weather situations for winters like this. The possibilities are endless for making improvements that really better the lives of Etown students.
