As a student at Bethany College, we have all complained once or twice about something which occurs because of what a small college Bethany is. Bethany is so well-known though, it truly is a small college of national distinction. This article describes things we hate that we love about our alma mater.
1. The small campus size.
Dreaming about college, seldom do students hope to attend a school with under 1,000 students. When one thinks about college you often think about a huge university, where you don't know every single persons name, where there are crazy parties every weekend, and even some on week days thrown in there. Here at Bethany, we don't always have that university luxury-- we know everybody's name, we know where the one half-way decent party will be on the weekend, and the one bar which everybody will end up at. We hate how small Bethany is, but we love it. We love that we know everybody's name, that we can ask anybody in class for a small favor and they will likely help you. We can be assigned random groups in class and we are not super uncomfortable with whoever we are assigned to work with because, at least we've seen them before, they aren't a total stranger. We love that everybody goes to the same party, and ends up at the same bar. We know where to find our friends in different sororities or fraternities on a weekend, and have fun with everyone.
2. The small class size.
We hate that a professor knows the minute they walk into class who is missing that day. We hate that we may even get an email that day asking the why we weren't there. A lot of classes have attendance policies -- which can be a blessing or a curse. The teacher knows when you are not there, without question -- since the classes are mostly under 20 students, especially when you get into your major classes. We love a small class sizes because of how much interaction we can get with each professor. Small class sizes help most of us to understand content better, and to not be afraid to ask questions. like we may be in a classroom of 100+ students.
3. The hills/steps.
Okay, this is mostly a hate; there is not a lot of love here. But for all those fitbitters -- you must LOVE the hills and steps Bethany possesses. The Greek steps, the steps behind the library, CV steps -- there is no escaping them. If you do not have a car, you burn at least 1,000 calories a day walking to and from classes. More motivation to get to that 8 A.M. am I right? If you don't have time to workout later that day, just walk instead of driving to campus and I think you can count it. We may be out of breath by the end of every hill or set up steps, but it's likely to help us fight the freshmen 15, right?
4. How isolated it is.
How isolated campus is is mainly a huge inconvenience. But, the "Bethany Bubble" is pretty nice most of the time. Being tucked into a mountainside we get away with a lot more than big universities. Yeah, it is a struggle driving all the way to Wellsburg/Wheeling when we need something when the General Store, Chambers, is closed. But the Bethany Bubble gives most of us a safe, content feeling. We're away from home, but we don't feel unsafe or scared. We're nestled away in a mountain, where dangerous situations can easily take place, don't get me wrong, but we feel safe here for the most part.
5. The bar.
BUBBA'S. We hate that we love this little dive bar. Although, without Bubba's there wouldn't be anywhere to meet up on the weekends, and Wednesdays of course. We know every bartender and most students even have a good relationship with the owner. We love going there for a nice beer, some karaoke, and even some delicious wings on Wednesday; unless the ATM machine is out of order, then we all cry a little bit inside. What other school goes out like us on a WEDNESDAY? Not many, but it adds to the reason we love it here at Bethany. Thanks Bubba's.
Oh Bethany. It's wonderful.
