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Printer-Friendly ModeCampus in need of jump start, own unique culture
February 27, 2006 —
Forging a campus culture unique to SVSU is a seemingly insurmountable problem. How would you respond to the question, "What is it like to be a SVSUer?"
Administrative officials and students alike lament the trouble of defining the identity of SVSU. I am going to argue this problem is a result of the circumstances in which the University operates.
Namely: the apparent lack of a diverse body of activities and clubs in which students, faculty and staff can involve themselves in; the gentrification/enfranchisement of Bay and Tittabawassee roads, and finally, the prohibitive physical space which the University inhabits.
SVSU is a relatively small university (compared to Michigan's other public universities) with a large commuter base. It seems to me that this is inhibiting the creation of a wider array of clubs and organizations, which if existed, would invoke greater student involvement and hence a more coherent, recognizable campus culture centered on a bustling collegiate scene. Student involvement at SVSU has been somewhat of a crisis - working for the Vanguard has allowed me access to several functions which are attended overwhelmingly by the same people.
Perhaps if there were a greater number of organizations, students would find something that piqued their interest and SVSU would experience an overall increase in student participation. I am well aware that organizations cannot will themselves into existence, however. These things take funding, and as President Eric R. Gilbertson noted, the administration takes very seriously what it is going to tax the entire body of students for. This dilemma is not easily routed: it appears that if students want to see more happening on campus, they are going to have to pay for it.
Second, I believe the generic chains that occupy Bay and Tittabawassee roads are restricting the creation of a uniquely identifiable culture. International franchise establishments like McDonald's and Wal-Mart may be - probably unintentionally - preventing the actualization of an identity that belongs solely to SVSU and its surrounding environs. Consider the characteristics of these chains: they are instantly identifiable because they are totally ubiquitous. A McDonald's on any other corner in any other city will curiously resemble the McDonald's on the corner of Bay and Tittabawassee. Such establishments are meant to look and feel generic, and given the fact that the entire commercial district is composed mostly of similar companies, the whole area looks and feels generic, and by extension dull, spiritless and uninspiring. These kinds of corporations, quite simply, are unconcerned with producing culture. Even SVSU itself is home to Quizno's, a chain restaurant that employs Aramark's services.
Finally, it should be noted that the University is still located in the middle of a field. There is very little located within walking distance from the University's housing complexes - if you want to go somewhere, you are going to drive there. This prevents the kinds of random intermingling that engages students that attend universities located in more urban locales. Contrast this with the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, from which students can walk short distances to all kinds of destinations. Simply put, the more time people spend in their cars, the less time they spend communicating. Needless to say, this is not a problem easily overcome. SVSU can't be moved to a more desirable location. All we can do as SVSUers is to encourage local investment - if being close to SVSU is profitable, businesses will come.
But maybe I'm overanalyzing the situation. Maybe Burger King and Denny's and Abercrombie and Best Buy and K-Mart and Bennigan's and strip malls with blanche brick construction and empty parking lots help make Saginaw unique.
Or maybe I'm taking the whole scenario too seriously, to the point of making it all sound like a farce and thereby discrediting myself in the process (not to say that I possessed any credentials to begin with). But I'm still resentful of (if not perturbed by) the fact that I can't feel like a SVSUer.
Am I missing something?