USF has to raise prices to innovate
Re: “USF using theme park marketing methods” August 26, 2003

If at every moment the university tried to keep tuition ridiculously low, USF would still be just three buildings in the middle of an abandoned bombing range as it was in the 1950s.

We have to continue to improve and expand facilities on our campus while simultaneously managing our fees. Tuition is always going to go up, never down get over it.

Thank your lucky stars that you are in one of the cheapest states in the nation (ranked 49 out of 50) in terms of education.

There are not many other places where you can get to study two semesters for under $4,000 as an undergraduate.

I have heard several students whine (justifiably so) about a few buildings on campus which are old and falling apart, and are sometimes just too small to accommodate our massive student body; CTR being one of them.

When the administration decides to change that, a new set of whiners emerge (guess who?).

When I walk around campus and see all the construction and new buildings, I feel rather proud of the rapid progress USF has made. Shouldn’t you?

For the sake of the new freshmen reading The Oracle for the first time, show that you are proud to be a Bull, comment on some uplifting news and events on campus, and try to focus on the positive for once. The first week of Fall ’03 is not even over and the complaining has begun: please don’t make it a pattern.

As for referring to USF as a theme park, that is actually a compliment. Universities should be centers of attraction in the region. It should be a place people want to see, and maybe send their children later on. If you don’t want to pay higher fees, and you also don’t want USF to market itself for money, feel free to come up with better ideas.

Samvid Dwivedi is a senior majoring in Microbiology and is a senator at the College of Arts and Sciences.

Parking a hazard, no matter were you park

When I discovered that working 30 hours a week on campus qualified me for a staff-parking pass, I was overjoyed. After refusing to get a student pass last year, and racking up significant charges by letting parking meters expire, I was and still am happy to be able to park a little bit closer than usual and not find a ticket under my wipers when I return.

However, I find myself parking on unpaved lots and grass lawns over by the Social Sciences building and often taking the last spot. I did not pay $155 to tailgate, nor do I have four-wheel drive. Also, the “hovering” phenomenon is in full effect in staff parking lots as well, although it is admittedly more of a problem in the student lots.

The kicker, though, is that within one week of school starting another individual with a staff parking pass scraped my car with their bumper and left no note, apology, insurance or contact information.

A person prone to stereotyping like myself might expect this behavior in the student lots. I would have been angry if this had been the setting; however, none of my acquaintances who park in student lots have had this happen. Since it happened in the staff lot, I am outraged, and my version of the American dream (driving a car with A/C and parking in the good spots) has been shattered for many weeks to come. Whoever did this should get his or her car fixed quickly because I am looking, and when I find you I will press charges.

Lesson learned. My car now wears that white mark like a scar. Next year I’ll buy the student parking pass and use the $50 that I save to get my car fixed, not that it will be enough money!

Christian Reed is a graduate student in anthropology and epidemiology. He is also a Peace Corps recruiter.

Left-handed students at a disadvantage

I know that I am not the only left-handed student at USF, and I am sure that others like myself are aggravated by the fact that there are not many seats in class made for left-handed people.

If you are lucky enough to get a seat that is left-handed it is all the way on the left side of the classroom. What if I wanted to sit in the middle or the front? Well I can’t unless I want to be uncomfortable the whole time because my body is turned all the way to the right to accommodate my right-handed seat. I spent all last year doing this, and it started all over again today. If you don’t know how this feels, feel free to sit in a left-handed seat try taking notes. It sucks.

I would just like the school board, when designing the classrooms, to put this into consideration. It does not seem fair that all the left-handed people should have to sit on the left side of the room or on the very end.

Sincerely, A southpaw.

Danielle Kelly is a sophomore majoring in business.