Another Year Begins

Today is the first day of classes here at East Tennessee State and it was overcrowded as usual as I made my way down to Memorial Center for work. I have to say though this year it appears we have more students than ever. The overflow parking lot was full and there were students parking in the back parking lot of my apartment building.

I’d imagine that the numbers will drop as the semester goes on and some are verified for their financial aid checks and then drop out. Part of the problem of parking on campus is that several construction projects were started with about 3 weeks left in the summer. They’ve torn up several staff parking lots and one of the main student lots is full of construction equipment for the ETSU soccer field.

We’ve been told for awhile now that they are going to put a parking deck up but I’m not sure they currently have the space to do so. ETSU has been consistently upping it’s enrollment for the last few years and they are quickly losing space for all the students that it must accomodate. I overhead a staff member say on move-in day that there are 200-300 students who are supposed to be on campus but are living in motels right now because the dorm renovation hasn’t been completed yet.

I find that ridiculous because this is a university that just spent several thousands of dollars in donations to build a belltower. They said it was to add tradition to the campus and to make it look nicer. Maybe it’s just my opinion but I think our campus would look a heckuva lot nicer if everyone had room to park and if the dorms were updated just a tad. Ok, so they are working on upgrading some of the dorms, just not the dump that is married housing. I know I shouldn’t complain but sometimes I just have to vent about my tiny little apartment.

So as all the undergrads are off to their first day of classes, I’m sitting here in Memorial Center waiting on pictures to load off a soccer dvd because I’m searching in vain for a picture of one of our players who was red-shirted last  year. Fortunately for me, I don’t start classes til Wednesday night so I have a few more days where I can focus solely on work.

For the rest of you out there, what’s going on in your worlds? Talk to me, people.