Sometimes, changes are for the better.
The other day, I visited a friend’s apartment on the first floor of Black Hall in Earl Warren College. Two years and some time ago, I was a sophomore living in that same apartment. What a difference two years can make!
I was truly taken aback by what I saw when I walked in. The carpets and walls were fresh, and the table and chairs looked like higher-quality furniture.
I know renovation takes care of those things, but the new inhabitants of Black Hall now have comfortable couches the length of the living room wall. That’s a 10- to 12-foot sofa that can seat tons of people or be the perfect naptime pal. It’s a very nice couch — it redefines the meaning of watching television. Somebody can lie down in most any position he wants. It’s a companion for the true couch potato. The sofa also prevents couch thefts, big as it is. No one would try moving those things in and out, and they would not fit into an elevator, either.
Then I turned my head and saw the kitchen. What a makeover — new white stoves, a nice, clean white refrigerator and new sinks, countertops and tiled floors. What I noticed most in the cooking area were the cabinets: pine-colored, smooth, classy-looking cabinets with aluminum handles. We used to have ugly, reddish, dirty-looking things. The countertops and pantries match the cabinets, making the new ones stand out ever so much more.
It’s hard to describe the good feeling you have when you see these improvements. One would likely have to experience it for himself.
As if all that were not enough, I saw the bedrooms and found they have those nice wooden beds that most of the first-year dorms use. You can adjust the height of the bed frames for your own personal comfort. I had to live a whole year with those nasty steel frames, so I could not believe my eyes at first. Perhaps I’m exaggerating, but those old beds did seem pretty gross.
On the whole, the renovation reflects school policy. This is a notable fact: It means the school cares enough to enhance the life of its students.
A lot of freshmen are probably discontent that they will have to move off campus from now on — but the ones who can stay at school will be living much better.
Please cherish what the university has done for you. It is a real treat. I am not going to go overboard and shower the UCSD authorities with compliments, but I do realize that an effort has been made to make the students happy.
So when I see all those trays, dishes and silverware from the dining halls lying around, it makes me sick. First of all, because they are not yours, many of you just leave them lying around, ruining the beautiful interior of your apartments.
Second, why the heck are you stealing? Take couch thieving, for example; once I saw with my own eyes people stuffing one into an elevator.
Maybe I am being biased, but the apartments are gorgeous and the campus is visually appealing — if not wonderful — so I hope students know what they have before it is gone.
For those guys who deliberately bounce their basketball above my friend’s apartment, can you comprehend what it would be like for you if your neighbor from upstairs incessantly thumped a basketball and prevented you from having a moment of peace? Show some concern for your fellow schoolmates, if only to preserve the environment that the school tries to maintain.
The next time you see your friends who are still in high school, tell them that our campus rocks, bar none.
