I have been at UC Davis for three years now and there have been many changes around that I don’t even know what the school will look like anymore in the future. There was the extension of dorm rooms in Tercero, MU renovations, a new bookstore, the Ann E. Pitzer Center, new museum, amazon lockers, and many more, but there are some things that still need some improvement.
I asked a few students what they think UCD needs most improvement on through Facebook. I narrowed down the top most important responses I got and found many to be common amongst many of my friends, so I decided to write an article about it. Some of you may disagree with this list, but for the most part, if you look into the near future these problems will stack up to each other and cause some trouble.
1. Dead Week: Okay, you know I HAD to start with this. Why? Well let me tell you why. Imagine taking, I don’t know, a biochemistry final 4 days after having your last lecture; the last lecture consisting of 55% of your final too. I know 5% is not much, but that might be a lot for somebody with a D+. Regardless of what your major is, which classes you are taking, how prepared or behind you are in class, a DEAD WEEK is necessary. Almost every UC has a dead week or day, if not all of them besides us. UC Davis needs to give students a dead week. Why a week and not a day? Simple: we are in a quarter system. I have had 3 finals in one day on a Monday, three days after having my last lecture for 1 one those finals. It was absolutely horrible (even though I was fine taking all three at the same time). But PLEASE UC Davis, give us a dead week. Think about how much better students will do. Help a brother/sister out UCD - sincerely every student.
2. Study Spaces: Can somebody please let me know why half of the second floor at the silo is closed down? I always see students on the floor studying with no spare to sit. I never see anybody on the other side. UC Davis is a great school that offers some of the best education in the U.S. BUT, before admitting more students, why not expand on the resources we have available? I’m glad more people are coming here, but I feel bad for current and newly admitted students because we are running out of space.
3. Parking: This is by far one of the most important issues. If we don’t get to school before 9AM, there’s no luck. One possible solution would be to decrease the number of A parking lots and implement more C parking lots.
4. More 24-Hour Rooms: Even though I hate going here now, I spent 70% of my time here last year and I always felt like there was something missing, besides more space obviously. I know many of you will probably wonder how we would even be able to expand it, but there are empty lots around campus that could possibly become a 24-hour room; why not have two? One thing that could be added in the meantime is a microwave (not inside, obviously), but somewhere where we can microwave our food.
5. Lecture Halls: Okay, I’ve seen this on many of my friend’s Snapchat stories: they go to class and we end up sitting on the floor. On the freaking floor. We are paying, how much? So much money to get a seat on the floor. This is due to tight spaces and an increase of admissions.
6. Walker Hall & Freeborn Hall: I know these have closed down for personal reasons. Walker Hall because of infestation and abandonment; Freeborn Hall because of necessary seismic updates, but it has been such a long time since these have been closed. We can use this space to fit more students instead of jamming everybody in Rock Hall or sending them all the way to the Medical School. THE MEDICAL SCHOOL! We don’t even belong there, haha. But seriously, I know people who have had classes there in the past. We can use Walker Hall and Freeborn Hall for the space.
7. 24-Hour Snack bar and library: Adding a snack bar that sells coffee, snacks, juices, fruits, acai bowls, chips, smoothies, and other healthy foods would be genius. Imagine having a place on campus where you can literally walk to in the middle of the night to buy something? Now, I know you’re probably wondering where… Why not the library?! Imagine having a 24-hour library with a 24-hour snack bar?
8. Bike Paths: I’m not a biking fan, for now, BUT, I do skate around campus occasionally and I noticed it feels like I’m skating on dirt. Investing in smoother bike paths would be something that should definitely be considered in the near future.
9. Food: If you spend almost the whole day on campus, please raise your hand! Okay, then you will definitely agree with this one. We need more spaces. I know we have the Silo, both Cohos, the DC, and some food trucks, but we need more healthy choices, but they either close early or the lines are always up the… arsenal.
10. Welcome Week every quarter: So I never thought about this until one of my Facebook friends suggested it: having a welcome week every quarter instead of only once a year. This is actually a brilliant idea! Simply because we will have a smoother transition week every time. Also, some students take breaks or are admitted late, so having a welcome week every quarter will make things better for many of us. I actually love this idea. Please make this happen.
11. Napping: Okay, I know the school is not a bed, BUT… well maybe it is during finals… we need safer napping stations, or more napping stations. I actually don’t know how this can happen, but one possible suggestion is… maybe more hammocks? Or maybe renting out mats to place on the ground so we can all enjoy some quality sleep during our gap time?
12. Activities: UC Davis is by far the best university, who agrees with me? But you know how we can make it even better? Having weekly activities. I know this will involve more students to get out of their way to come up with activities, but we don’t necessarily have to run it. I have always thought of going to a place here on campus during my gaps, a place that will offer me some type of activity. I know we have the ARC, but who has time to walk all the way to China for 5 minutes (because it’s far) and then walk back to class 30 minutes after. I have always thought of having a farmer’s market around campus, or somewhere we can go to get our minds off of things for a bit. I still haven’t figured out exactly what, but if you’re reading this listicle, please give me some suggestions.
13. Public instruments: As a musician, I am always thinking about jamming out to them, but they are far from reach and if I bring them to campus, it will either require me to take up 70% of the classroom or five seats; and no, I am not going to put it by the entrance because… I can’t. We already have a public piano we can all play, but what about guitars? Drums? Violins? I know the music building is there, but that’s not as public. I don’t think this will ever happen, but it’s such a great idea. We can go during our gap time and either play the instruments, or watch people play the instruments. Great stress relievers.
14. Outlets: I don’t have to say any more than: we need more outlets or public chargers.
I know many people have also been complaining about the bus system, but that’s because we are running short on drivers. It’s okay; it happens. Don’t go off on the drivers please, they are trying their best. Maybe that’s another thing we need improvement on: just more drivers. But that will require more people to apply for the job.
