 Table of Contents |
 Next News Article |
U of S : Communications : OCN : Nov 28, 1997
As editor of On Campus News, I welcome faculty and staff opinion pieces (running to about 650-words) and I hope that they keep coming in.
But if you're not up to composing a full opinion piece, how about sending in suggestion box items for the University community and/or the powers that be to consider?
If there's enough response, we could easily get a regular Suggestion Box feature running in On Campus News. That way, anyone with, say, a money-saving idea or a suggestion for increasing efficiencies could send it - signed and with a phone number - to the paper for publication.
Let's give it a try, shall we? Mail your idea(s) to me in Communications, 280 Administration Building; fax me at -6815; or e-mail me at Wayne.Eyre@usask.ca
To give you an idea of the sort of thing I have in mind, here are some examples, in no particular order:
In the February 7, 1997, issue of On Campus News, Paul Bidwell, English Department, suggested a kind of we-love-the-University march of support for the U of S down the University Bridge. President Ivany was cool to the idea at the time because he didn't want the government to construe such an event as borne of anger against it.
But a march that emphasized our love for this institution, with all its warts, could only help our pleadings for sufficient funding, while providing a vent for everyone's positive feelings.
Imagine the scene: thousands of faculty, staff, students, and friends of the University walking across the blocked-off bridge holding signs of support for the University. It could end up at, say, City Hall or at the downtown Cabinet offices, where a few speeches could be delivered.
The national media would cover it for sure, and, who knows, it might help to loosen the purse strings in Regina.
As for when it might be held...
Graffiti isn't as insidious a problem on campus as it has become elsewhere in the city. But pains ought to be taken to erase it, paint it over, or sandblast it away as soon as possible after it appears. Apparently the problem is pretty bad over at Griffiths Stadium. (Why businesses vandalized in this way often don't obliterate it is beyond me.)
Claims for graffiti art are insufferable. Graffiti merely uglifies. I wonder if there'd be any interest in a (low publicity) graffiti-busters volunteer group.
These flying rats, as some call them, befoul balconies, doorways, and windows and often produce shin-deep shit piles that create obnoxious removal tasks for Facilities Management crews.
Because pigeons often carry diseases that can affect both animals and humans, even veterinarians do not seem averse to the idea of doing away with these nuisance scavengers.
The cost of building a rink in the Bowl doesn't amount to all that much. But is it worth whatever the cost is? Couldn't the money that goes to it be better spent elsewhere?
As far as I can tell, virtually no one uses the rink. And the ice rectangle pretty much kills the grass beneath it. The grass-replacement effort this past summer produced mostly weeds.
Still on the Bowl, a word on the cow paths. Not so many years ago, pedestrians on campus did not trample the Bowl into four or five footpaths in order to save a bit of time walking between buildings. Even during frigid winter days, the traffic flow went around the Bowl.
As George Bush might say, it's a respect thing. Student leaders, faculty, and administrators alike should call on everyone to respect the integrity of the Bowl and try to make the grass-tramplers feel like trespassers.
How many tourists and visitors drive onto the campus each year to see our handsome campus, I don't know. But I suspect that most of them miss seeing the scenic centre - the Bowl area.
A sign of some sort ought to be erected on Campus Drive, at the T-intersection near the Plant Biotechnology Institute, pointing visitors to this 'Point of Interest.' In the summer, parking would usually be available between the Administration Building and Kirk Hall, too.
Do you ever notice how the lights are left on in so many classrooms, with no one in them? If a Let's Save Energy campaign were launched encouraging the last person leaving the room to turn out the lights, how much money might the University save in a year?
When I worked in the Education Building, I often turned off a raft of flood lights in a well-day-lit area on my way into the east side of the building. If I walked there later in the day, the lights would invariably have been turned back on! I could never figure out why.
Some years ago, Carleton University (I think it was) undertook such a campaign and saved huge bucks. Let's do the same here.
P.S.: A note to the drivers of the University's service vehicles: Running your engines for 10 or 20 minutes while you're indoors wastes beaucoup gasoline, guys. How about turning off the engine. You can soon heat the cab once you're going again.
Most of us could stand to patronize - or merely attend - worthy events on campus more often. The Music Department regularly presents performing artists of world-class rank. Greystone Theatre's productions are always worth attending. Campus groups sponsor public lectures and debates on issues affecting us all. Various societies hold meetings and discussion groups. In the interests of keeping the campus a vibrant academic community, work on patronizing/supporting the concerts, plays, initiatives, exhibits, causes, and events that interest you.
Table of Contents |
Next News Article |