Let me preface this, before everyone begins hating: I do love Mercer. It feels like home to me and I wouldn't wish to be anywhere else, but like all things in life, I hold some serious regrets about coming here. Unfortunately, those grow the more time I spend here. So without further ado, why I regret coming to Mercer.
1. Mandatory freshmen meal plans.
Yes, feeding us is very important, and our mothers dearly appreciate knowing their precious children have all the food they can eat at a single tap of their Bear Cards, but the $5000 price-tag, overall less-than-ideal quality of the food--looking at you, Fresh Food Company--and complete and obvious apathy of the dining staff (apart from the guys in the Farmer's Market; they are cool, especially "Sandwich Guy," he's a bro), nothing about Mercer's on-campus dining experience is worth the price tag. Yes, we have unlimited chances to tap into the caf and grab the precious, heavenly manna that is a caf cookie, but with the to-go box option (another monetary investment) and the fact the Cafeteria and the Farmer's Market are all-you-can-eat buffet style, there is no reason to charge five grand for that. Also, it's just inviting us to make the Freshman Fifteen a horrible, pudgy, regretful reality.
2. Housing.
While Mercer Hall, sorority houses and the Lofts are veritable paradises on or near campus, everything else leaves something to be desired. Plunkett, MEP and Roberts all have their admirable qualities I'm sure--still searching for Plunkett's, but all I found was roaches, mold and stains--but the cons far outweigh the pros of those freshman halls.
Something breaks? File a maintenance report. Been a week and they still haven't come? File another. A month?! Well, maintenance crews I'm convinced are like Santa Claus--they don't actually exist.
The pricing for campus housing is almost as ridiculous as the meal plans and forcing me to pay for this sub-par living space for three years while a multitude of nice, quaint, affordable homes are able to be rented everywhere around campus? That doesn't sit well with me.
3. The lack of transparency in the administration.
I understand, we're young, still learning how the world works and we don't need to know every detail of the University's dealings, but we're also not toddlers. We chose to come here. You brag about our maturity and our academic and athletic achievements and our tuition pays for your sports car, yet none of our concerns are taken seriously.
And so help me God if I hear "send me an email," one more time...
4. The distance from my family.
This one isn't universal but rather very personal. I envy every person who can make a day or weekend trip home multiple times during the semester. I have to commit an entire day to traveling both to and from the town that raised me. It sucks somedays. It's great other days. Still left wondering what it'd be like to be closer.
Maybe these regrets are just mine, but I suspect they will resonate with more than just me. I'm not going to leave this place. I don't think running is the answer in this case. I think I need to stay and try to make a difference. See if these regrets can be erased and made into benefits for Mercerians to come.
