The University of Massachusetts is working on a new $182 million complex to benefit 1,500 of the most “elite” students. The new facility will house as well as provide classrooms and student services to some of the Commonwealth Honors College students. This is being done largely to promote the University to prospective students, especially those who are out-of-state. To me, this investment does not make sense on both a moral and economical level.
Speaking to the Boston Globe last week, one UMass junior felt the project would, “help the University create the sense of community students want and could become a main selling point for UMass.” How does segregating ComCol students from non-ComCol students create a sense of community? I don’t want to have to deal with first-year students entering my University thinking that they have some sort of entitlement over me because they live in the “special complex” for only the best of the best where they can mingle with one another in their newly built cyber cafe. I’m not having it. As for it being a selling point for UMass, I can understand how the University needs to have something big to promote as a way to get a more diverse group of students to apply, but why not something that benefits the whole campus and not just those who have good scores on the SAT they took in high school.
Shouldn’t more work be put into helping those students who may be struggling in school instead of throwing money into a project to provide extra comfort to those already succeeding? I have many friends in ComCol who have expressed to me that their honors classes are the easiest ones they have taken due to the fact that they are in smaller settings and are primarily discussion based. This means the students know the teacher, and the teacher knows the students by their faces. No extra effort is needed in trying to make connections with faculty because of the intimate setting. According to my ComCol friends, classes are largely participation-based, making it easy to earn good grades. Students outside of the honors college are generally in larger classes where getting to know the faculty needs to be done outside of class – either during the professors’ office hours or another pre-arranged time.
Why do these students get everything they need all in one place while I have to run around from one administrative building to the next trying to take care of the business I have to handle? These students are going to have a student services office located right in the same building that they live and learn in. Talk about convenience!
Also, because these students will be living and taking classes together they have extremely easy access to study partners who they can meet up with in their special lounge where they can prepare for exams and talk though misunderstandings from class. The hassle of what many of us “common” students have to do is cut out for these “elite” students. Furthermore, this building is going to be located right in the middle of campus making it easy for travel to wherever these students need to go.
Instead of being so concerned with the image of UMass and how to sell it to others, why not get down to what really matters? We should be building things that benefit the majority of students, not a minority of students who took a bunch of Advanced Placement courses in high school. Some high schools don’t even offer AP classes, so why should those students whose high schools did not offer advanced courses be set back from benefitting from what they may be capable of in college? The fact is that people will learn better in smaller classes because they are forced to. In a small class you have a name, in a large lecture, you’re nothing more than the number on your student ID.
The Recreation Center is a great example of a facility built to benefit the masses. It’s open to the public for a membership cost and to 20,000 undergraduate students whose membership cost is included in one of the many UMass fees. The Rec Center, one of the many prolonged projects UMass has completed, cost $52 million dollars, a little more than one quarter of the estimated price for the new “special complex.” Why spend so much money on something that doesn’t even come close to benefitting as many students?
This is not the right time for a $182 million project. The Globe’s article states that the money for this project is “borrowed,” and although it does not specify from who or where the money is borrowed, the fact is that it will need to be returned. It means we don’t have the money to spend in the first place.
This raises another point. Where is the money going to come from to pay it all back? There is going to be an added $150 fee per semester for those who are in ComCol, but that is not going to even begin to cover this expense. How about we finish one project before jumping to the next?
Stacey Linehan is a Collegian columnist. She can be reached at [email protected].
Kyle • Nov 29, 2010 at 5:15 pm
interest rates are at an all time low, i can’t think of a better time in the history of man to borrow money.
Rob • Nov 27, 2010 at 1:55 pm
I’m in ComCol and I disagree with this building. To Johnny Jay, yes there are RAPs. But there are few, and there are an even greater amount of HONORS RAPs for ComCol Students.
I am considering leaving Commonwealth College because I am vehemently opposed to this building. What a waste of money.
Alek • Nov 26, 2010 at 12:11 pm
This honors complex is such an elitist (read: classist) idea. It sickens me that the school would spend $182 million to segregate the “special” kids from the rest of us “plebeians.” Talk about entitlement.
Shouldn’t the school be spending this money on fixing crumbling buildings, funding underfunded departments, and deconstructing the bureaucracy erected because of money shortages? For example, imagine if the 18 most underfunded departments received $10 million each. Think of how much that would improve students’ learning. Imagine how many doors would be opened.
But, no. I guess maximizing every student’s potential just doesn’t interest UMass. Go figure.
Johnny Jay • Nov 24, 2010 at 3:31 am
What they author either doesn’t realize or doesn’t want to admit is there are living/learning communitiies for non-ComCol students to join. They are called RAPs (residential academic programs). They are available for first year students as a way for students to get to get to know other students in their major/other students who share certain interests. In most cases, one or two courses are taught within a classroom in the same building or nearby. So it is very similar to the ComCol program.
However, I do agree with the author that this is not the right time to borrow even more money. This will drive and even larger financial stake into the heart of UMass.
Ed • Nov 23, 2010 at 11:45 pm
OK, I will substantiate my concerns.
First, this is cost shifting from the Housing Trust Fund to the E&G budget lines. Unlike most state bonds, unlike every bond issue that UMass did prior to 1990 and the lovely Ericsson Phone System (where the students on the 546 system bought the administrators a new phone system), these bonds are guarenteed by the revenue of kids in the dorms and not the “full faith & credit of the Commonwealth.”
What this means is that ALL students are going to be paying for the lovely housing of the few. As well as the new police station, etc.
Second, the entire principle of having ComCol out here was that it was NOT to be segregated. That the majority of the classes and the majority of the interactions would be with the “normal” students, and that (as someone else already mentioned) the general climate of the entire student body would be improved. This move to segregate raises all kinds of issues relative to that.
Third, the purpose of ComCol was to bring things to campus — speakers and such – for ALL the students to enjoy. Sure the vast majority of the students wouldn’t go, but much like the “Chancellor’s Lectures”, you could go if you wished. Now with a locked fortress, they will keep the Hoi Polloi out of the building…
I supported the concept of an Honor’s College as first proposed, but this walled society is something else entirely and not a good idea…
Rachel • Nov 23, 2010 at 6:42 pm
I agree with Stacey. $182 million is a whole lot of money to be spent on an unnecessary new building for the privileged students, especially one in the center of campus. Granted, its not literally in the center of campus, but its much closer than the rest of us have had to walk to get to our classes all these years. At a time like this, I don’t think its viable.
Critical but free thinking • Nov 23, 2010 at 5:11 pm
The men and women who manage UMass’ finances do so professionally. They are thrifty and always looking to cut spending in whatever way they can. You have provided not one reason for me to suspect that these men and women are not doing their jobs and yet you ask me to indict them for neglecting their duties. If these men and women implicitly announce they have construed a method for funding such a project, I am not willing to assume, based on the words of an unqualified, ignorant editorialist, that any aspect of the management of the University’s finances has been left to chance. In the future, should you feel wary of the conduct of these men and women, please substantiate your concerns prior to voicing them.
Emily White • Nov 23, 2010 at 2:29 pm
I have to respectfully disagree with a few points. First off, getting into ComCol requires more than just taking AP classes in high school and good SAT scores. It requires dedication to academic work throughout all of high school. Last time I checked, admission to the Honors College does not require taking any AP classes.
For students who performed well in high school but could not afford to go to other schools or simply did not want to, ComCol is an attractive option. ComCol gives those students opportunities and by attracting those students, can improve the reputation of UMass Amherst as a whole which ultimately will help every person who graduates from here regardless of whether they were in ComCol or not.
I think saying that honors classes are the easiest classes at the University is a generalization. It may be true that some of the honors classes are not terribly difficult and some are harder than others. But it is not always the case that the students in those classes can just lay back, say a few things in class, and earn A’s. Most require that you do all of the work and reading since there are fewer students in the class and more chances for being called on at random. Many classes require a lot of critical thinking and discussion and I would not say that having a large participation component necessarily makes a class a cinch.
As for the point that everything is so “convenient” for ComCol students, they have to run around just as much as every other student on this campus. All ComCol students have majors; some have double majors, minors, or certificates to earn. ComCol advisors don’t offer much help with major requirements or any other requirements a person might have. That means going from one department to the next just like everyone else has to. It’s doubtful that the new facility being built will remedy this problem. If ComCol advisors continue to only really deal with ComCol requirements, students are still going to have to go between departments to get things accomplished.
It may certainly be true that right now is not the time to borrow $182 million dollars and there could have been a lot of strong economic reasons not to be planning the construction of several new buildings on campus (beyond just the Commonwealth Honors College facility), but this column did not really talk much about those.
I agree that help should be given to students who are struggling and I don’t think ComCol students should be the only ones who get to take small, participation-based classes. I am not supporting the ComCol complex, I’m simply addressing some of the points used to argue against it in your column.
ComCol Alum • Nov 23, 2010 at 1:00 pm
Investing in ComCol does benefit the whole university. They’re aiming to attract more high-achieving high school seniors and make the applicant pool more competitive. This creates a more intellectually curious, less “zoomass” student body, which raises Umass’ ranking and reputation.
Sounds like the author should stop whining about “elites” and work on improving her grades. Most ComCol kids aren’t from elite backgrounds or priveleged families. They’re just ambitious and are actually interested in learning.