Okay, I really can't resist the opportunity to burn off a little steam about the mandatory meeting that Marsh Hall residents attended a couple weeks ago. The article I wrote for the latest edition of the paper discussed how the students were gathered together by college officials because the dorm's vandalism hit an all-time high, the most recent case being anti-Semitic graffiti throughout the fourth floor.
Coming into the meeting, I was already appalled by there being that kind of graffiti in the first place. I couldn't really get a clear answer from people on what exactly the graffiti was -- a couple people mentioned that it might be a few swastikas were drawn on flyers and door decorations, and others said they heard that it was just phrases like "Jews suck." Either way, I didn't expect that anything along those lines would end up in a dorm at Wofford.
Once I was at the meeting, I found out that this wasn't the only problem in the dorm. In addition to numerous cases of vandalism on the walls and doorways, there had been an instance of defection in one of the shower stalls, as well as a bed loft thrown from a fourth floor window. And I assure you, the list goes on.
It happens to get worse. Even more disturbing than all these things happening in the place where at least 150 students live, the residents' attitudes at the meeting were ridiculous. Pouncing on Dean Bigger's inquiry of what the college can do for the students, many students answered they would take better care of the dorm if it was nicer. Quickly, the meeting shifted from a forum about dealing with an offensive occurance to a list of maintenance requests.
Students complained about the carpeting, the need for bathroom doors instead of shower curtains, and the prison-like design of Marsh in general, among other things. With each request, the more I wanted to get up and walk out of the meeting. I was almost embarrassed to listen to the 20 some-odd students that complained.
True, Marsh is definitely not the most desired dorm on campus. As a former resident of the fourth floor of Marsh, I know that living conditions aren't spectacular. The very first night I got into my bed, I laid my head on my pillow and found a spider right beside me. I can't say that at that moment I didn't think that I'd rather be at home in my clean, bug-free room. But really, it's not horrible and it definitely didn't deserve 15 minutes of complaints when there were much more important and relevant topics to discuss. I don't think any of the current or past residents of Marsh would say it's unbearable to live in.
Thankfully, there were a couple of Marsh residents that felt just as disgusted as me about the complaints. One guy stood up and asked why should the students expect the college to improve Marsh if students are tearing it apart as it is? A good question.
Overall, the meeting left me a little jaded about Wofford's newest class. Being friends with quite a few of its members, I know that a few people's behavior shouldn't and doesn't reflect the overall class. However, I really hope that Marsh residents realize that the problem won't go away by fixing the dorm; it's only gone when the people who destroy it leave or get their act together.
My comments are not directed at the perpetrators of the vandalism in Marsh dormitory. These individuals are unlikely to be influenced by this blog or concerned with efforts to address this problem. My guess is that this serious "acting out" is primarily for attention, which they are clearly getting. My comments are directed to the students who are appalled by being associated with these vandals by virtue of living in Marsh dorm. Face facts! You are each implicated by association, and you each have to live in a dorm populated by a few (hopefully) students who are willing to destroy property which belongs to others and to engage in hate speach through the medium of graffiti. You each have a responsibility to report students who are committing these acts if you know who they are. If you do not know who they are, FIND OUT! Marsh is your home this year. Take pride in it, even if it is not perfect. A school and its dorms are only as good as its people. Think about it.
Thank you, Sarah, for writing about this issue in the Week @ Wofford Blog. You have my permission to include my blog comments in the Wofford newspaper, and I encourage you to solicit comments from the Wofford community at large. This issue deserves serious consideration and purposeful action by everyone at Wofford.
Posted by: Anonymous friend of the Wofford community | November 25, 2007 at 11:10 PM
My comments are not directed at the perpetrators of the vandalism in Marsh dormitory. These individuals are unlikely to be influenced by this blog or concerned with efforts to address this problem. My guess is that this serious "acting out" is primarily for attention, which they are clearly getting. My comments are directed to the students who are appalled by being associated with these vandals by virtue of living in Marsh dorm. Face facts! You are each implicated by association, and you each have to live in a dorm populated by a few (hopefully) students who are willing to destroy property which belongs to others and to engage in hate speach through the medium of graffiti. You each have a responsibility to report students who are committing these acts if you know who they are. If you do not know who they are, FIND OUT! Marsh is your home this year. Take pride in it, even if it is not perfect. A school and its dorms are only as good as its people. Think about it.
Thank you, Sarah, for writing about this issue in the Week @ Wofford Blog. You have my permission to include my blog comments in the Wofford newspaper, and I encourage you to solicit comments from the Wofford community at large. This issue deserves serious consideration and purposeful action by everyone at Wofford.
Posted by: Anonymous friend of the Wofford community | November 25, 2007 at 11:10 PM
Although I do not agree with the vandalism happening in Marsh, I do agree with maintence complaints. I mean besides the rich private school children, most of us are here on scholarships or are paying 35,000 a year. Thats a pretty big sum of money to have to live with spiders.
Posted by: Concerned Student | November 28, 2007 at 09:33 PM