Unfortunately, even when you're on the best place on earth, like St. Bonaventure University, you're bound to run into some problems. Whether it be the buildings, people, food, Wi-Fi or any other problem you can think of, there will definitely be some issues you run into. You can be at the best place on earth, but no place will be the most perfect place on earth.
So, I took it upon myself to ask my friends what their biggest pet peeves are about SBU.
1. Parking.
Parking is one of the biggest problems on campus. There is absolutely nowhere to park that is close enough to where you need to be. I didn't know what everyone was talking about until my mom let me borrow the car for a night and I tried to park in the Richter for my 1 p.m. class in the RC. I checked 3 different places to park before I ended up in the last spot in the tennis courts. It was ridiculous. It's cool and all that we have the most grass in any American college, but it's kind of inconvenient to drive around and end up being late for your class.
2. Wi-Fi.
The school just spent all this money on upgrading the Wi-Fi, but it is spottier than ever. My freshman year, I never had a problem with the Wi-Fi, but now I'm sitting here in my fourth year and I have to wait ten minutes sometimes for my Internet to connect and load. Come on now.
3. Out of pocket study abroad.
For anyone who has went abroad, they learned quickly that scholarships and financial aid received here does not transfer to the university that's attended when going abroad. That's not necessarily Bonaventure's fault, but it can and will definitely deter people from going abroad. I know it does affect me. I can't afford that. I can hardly afford school with my scholarships and financial aid, so I most definitely wouldn't be able to study abroad.
4. Food Variety.
Bonas has three different places to eat. We have the Hickey Dining Hall, La Verna Café, and the RC Café. It's nice freshman year, because you're like, "OMG I have all the food I can eat and there's so much!" But then you hit the spring semester, and you're like, "The Hickey has grilled squash and sautéed carrots again?" It gets old.
La Verna is nice because it's kind of a healthier place to go to, but the vegetarian options (Important for me) aren't really there. I get a cheese queso or a hummus sandwich. You can order things without the meat, too. I've gotten a chicken caesar wrap without the chicken before. The protein is also very minimal. They don't have tofu you can replace the meat with either, which is sad.
The RC is okay because you can get a lot more, but don't expect to be eating super healthy if you order from the grill. They have quesos, three kinds of fries, mozzerella sticks, pizza logs, grilled chicken sandwiches and, thankfully, veggie burgers. You can also get a wrap or sub from the sandwich station so you can healthitize (I just made that up) your lunch. They also have some made-to-go stuff like yogurt parfaits, cheese cubes and veggie trays.
All in all, we have variety, but not enough by far. I heard that Alfred has a bunch of restaurants on their campus open all the time. If we had a Panera or a Sonic on campus that was open all the time, I think that would get more students to come here and would make all the current students very, very happy.
5. Gossip.
With the school being as small as it is, things spread FAST. I'll give you an example: last semester, Brad and I started talking the weekend of junior prom. I had texted him and told him how I felt and everything and that Sunday we had hung out in his townhouse. Other people in ROTC knew by Monday that we had hung out, but they didn't know we were talking until two days later. On Wednesday, we went for a walk on the river trail, got ice cream, watched "The Best Of Me," and he never left until the next morning. By Friday, all of Alpha Company knew we were a thing. It took less than a week for news to spread. That's insane. Gossip spreading at this school is a huge problem, and there unfortunately is no way to fix it because it is such a small school. You can't really hide anything that you do here.
6. Heating/Cooling.
If you have ever lived in a dorm on campus, then you know what I am talking about. On Move-In Day, you have to go purchase 37 fans for your room because it's the temperature of Satan's balls in your dorm. By midterm break, you think you're good, so you take home some fans and you come back to the heat blasted and it's somehow even hotter than in August. I remember living in Dev sophomore year and Kim and I hardly had our heat on but our room was always terribly hot. You would come back from class and change into shorts and a t-shirt instead of your cute fall/winter outfit. So, attention SBU: please give AC to those who do not live in the townhouses and please don't make it hot AF in the winter time.
7. Dorms.
I asked a friend what he thought about the dorm rooms and his response was, "They are absolutely archaic." Okay. He lives in Dev, which is kind of true. When parents move their kids into Dev, they usually comment on how the rooms haven't changed since they were sophomores and juniors. That's kind of sad -- like, really kind of sad. Robinson and Falconio Halls were renovated the summer after my freshman year and everything was done but the rooms. Not a single dorm room was touched, just the lobbies and common areas. When Dev was renovated, they literally only touched the lobby and nothing else. I totally get that renovating could be completely out of the budget, but that's why I would start with a wing at a time. If you have the money for the first floor of Dev on the Hickey side to get renovated this summer, then go for it. Those kids just get luckier than the other kids on the Hopkins side of Dev. It cannot be completely out of budget to get this somewhat done.
Overall, Bonas is the best place you could be at and I'm sure if you asked half of our student body, they would say that there is no way any other school could suffice --but we definitely need some work done.
