Constructive criticism
Kyle explores Union construction
I spent my summer in Washington D.C. working on the hill. I grew accustomed to the annoyances of Washington such as partisan politics, avoiding getting mugged, blistering heat and the mass construction around the capitol.
In case you’re not familiar with the government’s latest project, they’ve been building a half-billion dollar visitor center.
CNN’s Anderson Cooper summed the project up by saying, “The government is spending half a billion dollars of your money to build a visitor center so you can come watch how the government spends your money.”
Touché Anderson Cooper. Touché.
After my internship ended I arrived back home in Fargo. Or did I? The heat seemed to magically follow me home, petty politics flashed in our headlines as the board of higher education battled it out and everywhere I look, construction!
Actually I was surprised most of 12th avenue wasn’t ripped apart like it usually is. I think the street has had more work done than Michael Jackson.
Thankfully they haven’t bleached the avenue’s pavement white. That’d be a real pain to drive on once the snow starts to fall.
Back to construction. Even half of NDSU seems ripped apart — especially the Memorial Union.
Nothing says, “welcome back” better than to watch the university spend your money on an updated Union so you can visit it and, well, spend more money.
Okay, so the Union construction isn’t all that bad. Heck, I’m happy they’re finally doing something with the place. It’s just too bad they didn’t start sooner.
By the time the place is done I’ll be long gone. For us seniors it’s like buying a case of your “favorite beverage”, drinking a few cans and throwing the rest away.
So since I’m not going to be around to enjoy the finished Union I stubbornly decided to just enjoy a half- finished Union.
It is half done isn’t it? Don’t answer that.
My first stop at the union was Burger Time (while I’m writing I might as well do a food review, 5 stars for Burger Time). After ordering I sat down to eat but was interrupted by my phone.
I attempted to take the call but I couldn’t hear a thing due to, oh, the hole that was being drilled in the wall behind my head!
In frustration I decided to leave. Well, actually I tried to leave. It seemed like every time I found an exit it was blocked. I was trapped!
Is this the university’s new plot? Will they just trap me in here until I spend all my money or die? Will I be forced to eat every meal in the food court, entertain myself at the bowling alley and, if I’m up for some self-infliction, purchase a few books at the Varsity Mart?
After it’s all said and done they could put me in a display case with a sign that says, “Here stands Kyle Martin, student, Spectrum writer and eternally lost. Please do not feed.”
After a few minutes I found my way out. All this construction is enough motivation for even me to go to class.
As the Union slowly faded and I made my way to class, I realized that I’m going to miss that place once I graduate.
You see, for most of us seniors, this is the last year we’ll get to enjoy that place.
So to everyone who’ll be around a few more years, enjoy that Union.
We seniors have been paying for it for the past (insert time you’ve spent on undergraduate degree here) years.
On the flip side, at least we seniors will be out of here before new projects are started or restrictions worse than that printing initiative are put into place, but that’s a different topic for a different time for a different paycheck.
Columnists' opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of The Spectrum