Now that I have graduated, I can look back on my life at BYU and characterize what I liked and what I didn't like. I will use Letterman's top 10 format.
Top 10 things I DISLIKED about BYU:
10. APX hustlers.
9. Getting mobbed with flyers every time I walked from the WILK to the Library.
8. Mass Holiday Text Messages.
7. Mass emails from classmates who wanted notes from the previous class that they had missed.
6. Students who answered their phone OR other student's answers directed to the professor in class.
5. Students who asked questions in class just to make themselves sound smart OR attempted to blatantly contradict the Professor.
4. OCHEM.
3. BYUSA and their 7 dollar hot dogs.
2. The phrase "when I was on my mission..."
1. Utah Haters/Tools.
Honorable Mention: People who bear their testimony every month because it's their "goal"; loud neighbors; long lines; no close parking spots; shortchanging the students in athletics (see older post).
Top 10 things I LIKED about BYU:
10. An easily accessible weight room and basketball court (although crowded at times)
9. Lunches at the Cougareat (TB, anyone?)
8. SMASH!
7. On-Campus Jobs that were easily adjustable to my shifting schedule.
6. Affordable housing accommodations.
5. Intramurals.
4. Genuinely good, hardworking, friendly People.
3. HAROLD and the solace found inside his walls.
2. The Learning Environment, including unbelievably good professors.
1. It truly is a land flowing with milk and HONEYS...
There you have it. Feel free to add a list of your own.
I agree for the most part. If I were to make my own lists it would basically just mirror yours. Instead I just want to comment on a few of them.
ReplyDeleteI would add to the "dislike" list playing basketball with girls. It seemed to occur more frequently as the years progressed but I hated showing up to the RB and seeing girls there lacing up their basketball shoes to play with the guys (I understand that it's probably not feasible to segregate girls and guys at the RB...but I can dream).
I disagree with affordable housing being a good characteristic at BYU. A 3 bedroom apartment typically charged just shy of $300/month/person for six people. I don't call $1700/ month for a (generally) run-down apartment reasonable. Two-bedroom apartments went for $1200 +/- per month. The two mile radius rule instituted by BYU contributes to apartments being more steep than they could/should be. I realize that rentals would still be slightly higher in Provo than elsewhere in Utah without that rule simply because it's a college town but they could be cheaper. Eugene doesn't have such a rule and I am in a very nice 3-bedroom place for $785/month. Affordable housing accommodations doesn't make a top 10 list for me a things I liked about BYU.
P.S. If you thought commentator kids were bad at BYU, try law school. wow.
The library at BYU is far superior to the one at U of I. The HBLL has a wealth of resources, lots of helpful staff, enormous selection, and in general is worth going to . The one here is a) not named after a prophet, (it's called 'the main library') and b) has no electrical outlets by the study tables, of which there are about 20. I also have to say I like the testing center quite a bit. Honestly.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the whole list, except I love when people hate Utah for reasons like "it's a bubble" and "there is no scene in Provo." I find that attitude inspiring and productive. Also, I would perhaps switch 5 from the dislike list with 6 from the like list. Matt is right, housing really isn't that affordable, and I'd much rather be in a class with kid who contradicts the teacher than a perpetually silent one.
I heartily agree with Matt girls in the RB.
I'll offer one dislike and one like:
Dislike: People at the extreme ends of the BYU culture; those who ignore the honor code, and those who seek to enforce it to the letter. (I'm thinking about opinions in the DU)
Like: You can dress in your Sunday best on Sunday without feeling out of place, and all of the other nice things about being surrounded by LDS people.
Matt's absolutely right about housing. I agree completely.
ReplyDeleteTo an extent, I take the attitude that Jason finds "inspiring and productive." But I take it about the work culture rather than social culture. People move to Provo to study or have a family, not to work (unless they're a professor).
-Some other plus' about BYU: Scott Cuba Rosell, Jason Bells wavy hair, and Dan Hess' Jamaican Toms
ReplyDelete-Another Negative about it: Accounting 210 aka lame