The Rocky Mountain Collegian

September 1st, 2007

Welcome back! Politics away!

Welcome back faithful readers! I am very much looking forward to spending another year with you discussing the dirty side of politics (as if there ever was a clean side!).

So a quick roundup of what’s happened in recent weeks at Colorado State University:

CSU is back in session. So that can only mean one thing: Money woes! Yes, Katie and Trevor won the election this past spring, but I’m still seeing a big ol’ hunk of money I’m giving to Uncle Sam and Uncle Cam the Ram. So much for tax free textbooks, am I right? Clever campaigning you two, clever campaigning…

Parking woes continue. In an effort to be green and make green, CSU has increased its stranglehold on the parking situation. I know, I know, you’re asking the wonderful question of “HOW?!” To put things simply, expect to pay $300 for a Z-lot permit in a few years, as parking permits are getting more expensive in annual increments.

Oh, and don’t forget the fabulous work they’ve done with the Lory Student Center parking lot: Removing 30 possible parking spaces and replacing them with planters; any reason for this is beyond me. Could be some weird way of being eco-freaky (or as to quote CSU: “Go Green.” Ha!). This adds to the pain and joy (love-hate relationship, remember) of getting a non teacher parking space on just one full tank of gas in the parking lot!

Don’t forget the removal of the coin meters that we all remember with a passion, and replacing them with numbered spaces. Instead now you pay a little permit machine by 1) getting out of your car, 2)  inputting your parking space number and paying at least 25 cents to get the cheapest ticket at the brand new, hi-tech permit machines, and 3) taking said ticket BACK to your car and putting it in a visible area so the parking police don’t give you a hefty fine of an arm and a leg (don’t worry, CSU will have you believe they grow back with time, or just put you on a donors list, I’m not sure which). So this whole trip takes about 2 minutes off of your parking permit time, as opposed to “feeding the meter,” so it isn’t really what you paid for. Plus there’s the added benefit of no more half-hour-for-just-a-quarter moments! A good ol’ Washington coin will now nab you 20 minutes of time. Talk about your money going farther… into CSU’s coffers! Yay! Gee, I wonder how that parking garage is coming along…

Changing topics just a bit, we move on to tuition. As if it weren’t anything new, tuition has increased (surprise surprise…). And while I can’t determine how much it will increase, an increase is an increase is an increase. What’s so bad about giving more of your money to a university? Well, aside from the inherent vices of socialism, and that you should be spending your money, there is the big problem of how the university spends the. While freshman and transfer students might not understand, they will simply have to wait and see in 2-3 years how CSU is funny with money.

Students, remember Common? $90,000 in student fees for a “free” (it’s still a funny joke) concert? Remember how Yellowcard was the last big name band to come through campus? Remember when CSU banned Fum’s Song because it wasn’t politically correct (even though if you are offended by being called a “sissy boy” you probably are one)?

Personally, I have not seen a great amount of improvements done that make me appreciate or enjoy the university any more than I do already with the increased budget CSU has. They painted the Clark Building, made the IM fields off limits during parts of the summer to regrow the turf, and turned the Student Plaza into a Neapolitan ice-cream sandwich. There’s plans for a new Computer Science building right on the plaza (only way to build it was to tear down the trees and rip up the grass that was already there, thereby making CSU eco-unfriendly), and adding the Transit Center to the Student Center and making it “green powered” (It still doesn’t make me ride the bus or even consider getting a bus pass), and the still-under-construction Academic Village for selected students only. Personally, I could live without these improvements, as I return to my favorite complaint: “How’s that parking garage coming along?”

But as was always said: “C&D are practical” and “Bill Ritter is improving higher education while also keeping it affordable.”

But consider yourselves lucky. You aren’t paying as much as other schools, you live in the #1 city in the US, and you aren’t getting your throat cut at CU!

However, this doesn’t mean that I support a riot or protest outside the president’s doors, nor do I think any change will come if you bang pots and pans during Penley’s State of the University speech to drown out what he’s saying. I personally believe that protests and riots are silly pieces of rubbish. Plus it seems quite cliché that the only way to expect change is to grab your torch and pitchforks and storm the castle or just vote (while toting millions of political bumper stickers on your car along the way). Instead, just be aware where your money goes as you give the blank check to Uncle Cam.

But I’ll retract all of my statements if the football team can win a bowl game. Hell, I might just settle if we beat the Buffs. Go Rams!

P.S. The plural of “referendum” is “referenda,” not “referendums.” Write that down.

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 1st, 2007 at 12:07 am and is filed under Editable Constitution. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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