UCONN's Future

[BlueMAB]

Education is more important than entitled baby boomers and NIMBYs.

Those entitled baby boomers and NIMBYs subsidized your education at UConn. They helped pay for UConn 2000, the $2+ BILLION investment by the state, regardless of whether or not they supported the push to grow UConn.

But you could have gotten an education at one of the other 3,000+/- 4 year schools in the country.

What part of "education" requires parking on lawns? You bring up the importance of "education" while complaining about things that literally have nothing to do with the quality of education? While calling other people "entitled"? Just wow.

 

[polycom]

I'm 2 years removed from graduating. I was there when Herbst got there. I have friends on campus still and they still feel similarly. My thoughts on her haven't changed.

I'm not arguing her merits. I'm just saying she's unliked by students and many recent alum.

Listen fellow 2014 grad. Please do not speak on behalf of us because you don't represent us. I've read through everything you posted and most of it has been so entitled its ridiculous. The Town of Mansfield relations with UConn isn't terrible not sure where you made that up from. I also rented when I lived at UConn and yes its annoying that you can't have houses of 3+ last names on the same lease but guess what it's like that in many towns in the north east. Why do you think north east greek life pales in comparison to Southern greek life. In other words that ordinance isn't specific to just Mansfield but many towns in CT and New England have similar ordinances.

As to your point Herbst yes her handling of race relations hasn't been great, but as many people have tried to explain it is literally not within her scope to deal with that. It's really the office of the provost who actually runs the operations of the school who should be dealing with these matters. Presidents of colleges are largely just figure heads.

Your point about "Many people you know won't own homes" is ridiculous for a few reasons. There is literally no reason to get a degree in art because at the end of the day you aren't employable and thats what matters in America today. I know many UConn grads none of which will have any trouble buying a home later on in life. Lastly, this idea that Herbst needs to focus on other majors is really ridiculous at the end of the day UConn is a research institution, not a LAC school, and Herbst is being paid to do whatever she can to improve that standing. While I don't like everything she has done while we were at UConn there is little argument that she is absolutely improving the value of the piece of paper we paid 10s of thousands of dollars for.

 

[zls44]

 

[zls44]

I'm a dual-degree alum of CLAS and let me tell you that STEM should be 140% Herbst's focus.

 

[RedStickHusky]

Right, wrong or indifferent, you can't change how people feel.

There are numerous methods of changing how people feel, most reserved for matters more important than this.

 

[RedStickHusky]

and they aren't like their parents

That bit was nicely played.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I'm a dual-degree alum of CLAS and let me tell you that STEM should be 140% Herbst's focus.

I'd go further. I'd make liberal arts majors ineligible for any federal student aid or subsidized loans, and boost the aid to STEM students. If you want help from the government, do something that is useful to society and not likely to land you a job at Denny's you could handle as a high school dropout.

I'm pretty appalled by the attitude of entitlement I've seen. It really does remind me of Mac & Cheese guy. If you are a college student, nobody owes you jack. You aren't entitled to be comfortable or for anything to be easy. Complaining about sensible town ordinances like those in most places and thinking Herbst should somehow do something about them...nuts.

 

[mikedog10]

Wildly entertaining thread. Props to JMick for backing up his argument against the Boneyard onslaught, but I bet he feels differently in a few years.

 

[Nostical]

You see JMick, it starts small in Mansfield with a few multi tenant rental properties, then the Town loosens its restrictions on the number of occupants per rental property residence---and you end up with this on Eagleville Rd. It's a slippery slope.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/hollywoods-notorious-party-house-has-836255

 

[Palatine]

You laugh - I once heard a notable former UConn President who shall remain nameless share the best advice he received upon taking the job, from another university president: "you will succeed if you provide football tickets for the alumni, parking for the faculty and sex for the students." True story.

This was not a former president, it was an underling.

And the quote is a successful university "has sex for the students, sports for the alumni and parking for the staff."

 

[Nostical]

You can have sex while parking.

 

[CTMike]

You can have sex while parking.

While driving too... Although, it's pretty dangerous.

 

[polycom]

I'd go further. I'd make liberal arts majors ineligible for any federal student aid or subsidized loans, and boost the aid to STEM students.

Woah..don't go that far. Economics is a liberal arts major(at UConn) yet its one of the top earning majors post graduation.. Everything else I agree with.

 

[charteroak4life]

I'd go further. I'd make liberal arts majors ineligible for any federal student aid or subsidized loans, and boost the aid to STEM students. If you want help from the government, do something that is useful to society and not likely to land you a job at Denny's you could handle as a high school dropout.

Genius. Perhaps we should round up all the non-STEM students, call Obama, have him punch them all in the stomach, and then tell them they're not getting a damn thing from the government? That'll show those non-STEM-ing, hedonistic, hippie bastards.

 

[J187Money]

Genius. Perhaps we should round up all the non-STEM students, call Obama, have him punch them all in the stomach, and then tell them they're not getting a damn thing from the government? That'll show those non-STEM-ing, hedonistic, hippie bastards.

That isn't really the point. I just don't understand how people go to college, incur all sorts of debt in majors that don't teach any marketable skills, and complain because they can't get jobs.

Find me an accounting major with a 3.8 that can't get a job. Good luck.

 

[BlueMAB]

I'd go further. I'd make liberal arts majors ineligible for any federal student aid or subsidized loans, and boost the aid to STEM students. If you want help from the government, do something that is useful to society and not likely to land you a job at Denny's you could handle as a high school dropout.

I'm pretty appalled by the attitude of entitlement I've seen. It really does remind me of Mac & Cheese guy. If you are a college student, nobody owes you jack. You aren't entitled to be comfortable or for anything to be easy. Complaining about sensible town ordinances like those in most places and thinking Herbst should somehow do something about them...nuts.

What do you expect? The kid thinks the residents should be grateful of UConn for all the great things it brings to town....while talking about how they take advantage of "lower" house prices.

As if falling house prices are a sign of a highly desirable neighborhood. It seems he graduated without grasping an understanding of the effect that demand has on prices.

 

[JMick]

That isn't really the point. I just don't understand how people go to college, incur all sorts of debt in majors that don't teach any marketable skills, and complain because they can't get jobs.

Find me an accounting major with a 3.8 that can't get a job. Good luck.

There are so many BS degree's that are considered "STEM" too, which is why your point was moot. Here's a recognized list of STEM degrees. 1/3 of them are no better than a History degree. I'd argue a History degree is more valuable than half of the degrees on this list. http://stemdegreelist.com/

 

[JMick]

What do you expect? The kid thinks the residents should be grateful of UConn for all the great things it brings to town....while talking about how they take advantage of "lower" house prices.

As if falling house prices are a sign of a highly desirable neighborhood. It seems he graduated without grasping an understanding of the effect that demand has on prices.

You completely misconstrued my point.

My point was that people living right next to campus bought a house at a lower price due to the fact that it's right next to a major university. Now these people complain about students being around. They want to have their cake and eat it too.

 

[J187Money]

There are so many BS degree's that are considered "STEM" too, which is why your point was moot. Here's a recognized list of STEM degrees. 1/3 of them are no better than a History degree. I'd argue a History degree is more valuable than half of the degrees on this list. http://stemdegreelist.com/

Valuable to whom?

I'm not arguing for STEM for its own purposes. I'm just arguing for anyone that decides to borrow a ton of money to assess what they will do with their degree in order to get a reasonable ROI. And if someone blindly spends 100K to get a 2.2 in a major that employers don't care about somehow that's on someone else?

 

[JMick]

Valuable to whom?

I'm not arguing for STEM for its own purposes. I'm just arguing for anyone that decides to borrow a ton of money to assess what they will do with their degree in order to get a reasonable ROI. And if someone blindly spends 100K to get a 2.2 in a major that employers don't care about somehow that's on someone else?

A straw man is a common form of argument and is an informal fallacy based on giving the impression of refuting an opponent's argument, while actually refuting an argument which was not advanced by that opponent.

 

[J187Money]

Lol. So I wasn't an RA for two years and watch dozens of students get drunk all the time and underperform and waste their parents' money and then complain about how unfair the world is. Ok. Not a straw man.

So you are arguing against making common sense investments in education? Yale offers teaching degrees also. If it makes sense to pay 50K a year so you can get a job with a starting salary of 35K good for you. But doesn't make sense to me. And sure as hell doesn't make me sympathetic when people complain about teacher salaries. Again, not a straw man. Real people.

 

[JMick]

Lol. So I wasn't an RA for two years and watch dozens of students get drunk all the time and underperform and waste their parents' money and then complain about how unfair the world is. Ok. Not a straw man.

So you are arguing against making common sense investments in education? Yale offers teaching degrees also. If it makes sense to pay 50K a year so you can get a job with a starting salary of 35K good for you. But doesn't make sense to me. And sure as hell doesn't make me sympathetic when people complain about teacher salaries. Again, not a straw man. Real people.

You missed the entire point. Maybe you should have taken a few more English classes or a couple philosophy courses and you could have learned how to properly frame an argument.

I don't know why you started talking about 2.2 GPA's or STEM degrees in the first place. I never mentioned anything beside the fact that Susan likes to pal around the STEM department and ignore other departments. That's all I said on the issue and you started creating some weird argument attacking me for things I never even said nor implied.

 

[whaler11]

Your University President ignoring you for the greater good is a nice window into your professional future.

 

[BlueMAB]

You completely misconstrued my point.

My point was that people living right next to campus bought a house at a lower price due to the fact that it's right next to a major university. Now these people complain about students being around. They want to have their cake and eat it too.

A straw man is a common form of argument and is an informal fallacy based on giving the impression of refuting an opponent's argument, while actually refuting an argument which was not advanced by that opponent.

You know who bought those houses, when they bought them, WHY they bought them, and what they all think? You also know that the town is doing what those people want, but apparently nobody else in town (including the UConn administration) wants those ordinances passed?

Is this the part where you remind us of the importance of education is why nobody should care about the kids walking around those streets partying right now?

 

[whaler11]

You obviously don't understand renters rights and you don't realize that owners of rental properties hate the town.

Someday you'll understand why towns hate the owners of rental properties.

 

[JMick]

Someday you'll understand why towns hate the owners of rental properties.

This isn't just a random town. It's a town that borders the largest state University within Connecticut. I'm sorry that I have no sympathy for people who buy low and then complain. It's almost as bad as the dude who bought property above a bar and complains that the music is too loud. What did you expect?

 

[JMick]

Those entitled baby boomers and NIMBYs subsidized your education at UConn. They helped pay for UConn 2000, the $2+ BILLION investment by the state, regardless of whether or not they supported the push to grow UConn.

As is their societal duty.

 

[BlueMAB]

You're either a troll, really good at sarcasm, or one of the biggest, hypocritical, entitled brats I've ever come across.

 

[JMick]

You're either a troll, really good at sarcasm, or one of the biggest, hypocritical, entitled brats I've ever come across.

por que no los dos?

In all seriousness I see both sides of the arguments. I do think anyone who moves next to a college town and expects absolute quiet is an idiot. I do think the board should realize that not everyone agrees with their opinions. It's an echo-chamber bas3ed upon middle-aged + people here who really don't grasp current student issues. They don't understand the day-to-day issues that students face and most are pro-authority. Personally I'm biased against most authority figures just based on past experiences and I think most young persons can relate. We grew up in an era where big businesses were bailed out by government while they simultaneously took advantage of the middle class. We've seen our rights stripped away by our elected officials while they hold secret meetings in back rooms and block freedom of information requests. We're in an age where most police officers are against body camera's because they don't want the every day citizen to realize how corrupt they are. We have lawmakers who are gung-ho about banning personal freedom's and defunding organizations that help lower class and middle class folk. We're in an age where you can't just "climb the ladder" unless you are a STEM student - at least that's what current society wants to tell us. Nevermind the fact that some people learn differently and struggle with technical issues.

No, I'm not nearly as absurd as most of my posts may make me seem to be. But I do have an issue with a president who seems to be determined to ignore student complaints and needs. Herbst is very corporate. Good for UCONN's image, bad for fixing daily student needs. If you were paying an exorbitant amount of money for an education I think you'd feel you had the right to be acknowledged by your president. After all, she's an employee of the state and as taxpayers and tuition payers all voices should be heard.

I don't think she's a monster, I don't think she's bad for UCONN - I do think she's out of touch.

 

[BlueMAB]

Michael Gilbert Vice President for Student Affairs 29 Wilbur Cross 860-486-2265
vpsa@uconn.edu

Your beef is misplaced. Her role is much greater than "daily student needs". She's trying to overcome a $40 million dollar deficit. I imagine one of the daily student needs is to not see their tuition raised even more. (And, relatively speaking, UConn does not cost an "exorbitant" amount of money. It's a steal).