JENNA VORIS | OPINION COLUMNIST Photo courtesy of Flickr
With Thanksgiving break over and the promise of Christmas on the horizon, it’s not unusual for Butler University students to be feeling a bit, well, over it. These next 14 days pushing into finals week either sends students into a studying, note-taking frenzy, or makes them question why they thought this whole “college thing” was a good idea in the first place.
Although most people just spent Thanksgiving week remembering all of the things they were thankful for, some of them probably forgot to be thankful for Butler.
Yes, Butler’s campus can be loud – thanks, Butler 2020 construction—cold and small, but that doesn’t mean it can’t also be #BUtiful. Here are five things students at Butler should be thankful for.
Proximity to nature
With the mall slowly growing back to what it was, one of the biggest pluses of Butler’s campus is the fact that nature is right around the corner. Even with winter on the way, Holcomb Gardens and the canal trail are still great places to hang out and relax.
Of course, that proximity to nature brings its own charm. Residents of Schwitzer Hall are all too familiar with the stink bug plague from late August until early November. The Butler squirrels are far too fearless, and the University Terrace apartments seem to be home to a nest of Aragog-sized spiders.
Nevertheless, city students everywhere are probably jealous of our open green space.
The academic success of students
Butler boasts a 95 percent placement rate after graduation and—even though I’m pretty sure I am somewhere smack-dab in the middle of the 5 percent who may or may not end up homeless—that number does look pretty impressive on Butler’s website.
Unfortunately, there is a cost to that academic success. A cost equivalent to about $52,615. While taking the time to be thankful for our future jobs, let us also remember to appreciate the part-time jobs, parents, FAFSA and scholarships that are funding our way to greatness.
Faculty and staff
It is no secret that a key to Butler’s success is mostly due to the faculty and staff. The student to faculty ratio is 12:1, meaning that most staff know their students by name. Even Levester Johnson, vice president for student affairs, gets to know the student body through Twitter.
That being said, many students find their thankfulness short-lived when they run into the professor whose class they skipped earlier that morning.
Innovation
Unless they have been living under a rock for the past year, students know about the Butler 2020 plan. Even if the details of the plan are not common knowledge, it’s hard to miss the construction on Sunset Avenue or on the developing parking garage.
With innovation comes challenge. Students can only be appreciative for so long with limited parking spaces, loud noises and dusty air.
Food within walking distance
College students thrive off of midnight snacking. How else are we supposed to fuel those finals week study sessions?
From late night Starbucks runs to C-Club raids, a variety of foods are always within reach. I, for one, am thankful for the selections offered by the dining halls, especially since my own kitchen at home is pretty limited.
Of course, my gratefulness dwindles when the food in Atherton Marketplace makes me feel sick, or when the prices in C-Club prove a little too much for my ever-shrinking supply of flex dollars.
Butler students have a lot to be thankful for. Despite the trials that come with it, there is one truth that we are especially appreciative of: We wouldn’t want to go to school anywhere else.
