Lee Campus - A Game of Frogger

     I once heard someone tell me the words of Paul Conn. "There are two kinds of Lee students who cross the street. The quick and the dead." Crossing the street can be a challenging task, especially at night. Everyone has seen the drivers that FLY through campus, catching air as they go over the raised crosswalks. I don't know about anybody else, but getting flattened by a speeding car with load music is not on the agenda for my college career. Thankfully, there have been attempts to prevent the squashing of prospective students. Numerous signs have been placed along the streets of Lee University to let drivers know there are students that may be crossing. It's not difficult to notice someone in the road, but if there is a car racing at 50 mph towards me, I tend to get a little nervous and antsy. So maybe it's not just awareness of crossing pedestrians? Maybe speed could be a factor that plays into it as well. I found a passage in the book that relates speeding to pedestrian injuries. The book is called "Traffic Safety and Human Behavior" and has the notion that advertising and television affects the way people view speeding.  

     "Despite the fact that in interviews and surveys people stress the importance of safety in the choice of the cars they drive, marketing gurus - in general - believe otherwise. This is revealed in content analyses of advertisements and commercials for new cars that often depict unsafe driving, especially speeding." (p. 274) 


     Obviously, getting hit by a car would not benefit anyone in a positive way. Students need to watch out as much as drivers and never assume that they have been seen. As opposed to the game of frogger, getting up and trying again would not be the case here. So look both ways, listen, and look again. Don't get hit and don't hit anyone either. Not good.



     

The Humanities

     That building above? It's the Humanities Building. The awe-striking building stands tall and marvels those who look its way. Countless classrooms, musical practice rooms, (clean bathrooms), and offices are nestled comfortably within this building, along with an Einstein's Bagels, a study lounge, and a lecture hall. Students move all throughout this building almost every hour of the day. There are several students who have more than one class in the Humanities Building. But it's not enough just to say that, so I took a survey in the Humanities and asked thirty students this question:

     "How many classes to you have in the Humanities Building this semester?"

Now, not being a full-fledged scientist, I did not key in the factors of what year the students were in or their major. But here are the overall results:


One class - 9

Two classes - 13

Three classes - 5

Four classes - 3



     As you can see, there are several students who have more than one class in the humanities building. I did not meet anyone in the survey who exceeded four classes. However, I did only ask thirty people. So if you know or meet someone who has more than four, let me know!

    There are several academic buildings on campus. Yes, they are all very important to the functioning of Lee University and the instructing of students. Let the Humanities building and the survey represent all of the academic buildings on campus. Every one has a purpose and a reason it was built. Lessons will be learned. Friends will be made. Futures will be shaped. All in these buildings at Lee, which are quite aesthetic I might add, serve a great purpose and all represent the great academic powerhouse that is LEE UNIVERSITY!

Archways and Aesthetics

     Pictured above are Lee students enjoying the recently completed addition to campus. Completed a little over a week ago, a new archway and sidewalk were built. Also added was a brick wall to cover the dumpster, as well as some landscaping and sod. Everyone on campus heard the same thing. "Why do we need that?" "Is that what they spend money on?" "I don't understand?!" Personally, I like the addition to campus. And after the completion of the project, most who had their doubts actually liked it too. It completed the sidewalk that goes straight through campus in place of church street.
    Making the campus look nice and presentable can affect students more than they realize. Fact- Lee University's campus is the best looking campus that I have ever seen. The buildings, the landscaping, the lights, etc. It's all great. Not only does it make current students enjoy going here that much more, but also to help bringing in more students.
      Overall, although it wouldn't necessarily matter if I didn't, I approve of Lee's new additions to campus.

When You Come to a Fork in the Road, Take it

     Every student at Lee is required to study abroad at some point to graduate, and there are several different locations to pick from. The trips can be based on the student's major or not really related at all. The students at Lee all look forward to traveling to a different country and environment to learn and sight-see. Trips are taken to Ecuador, Australia, England, and SEVERAL others either every year or every other year. Students get school credit for going on these trips and the hours they receive depend on the trip they go on.
     I have yet to decide where I will be studying abroad, but I do have I while before I have to decide where to go. However, I think that once I get an anchor down on the major I want (which may be a while) then it will be easier to may a choice.
     Studying abroad broadens the perspectives of students. It introduces them to a whole new culture. A new experience. A new world. This is one of Lee's greater aspects, and has huge impacts on the lives of students. Although I have not studied abroad yet and don't have personal experience yet, I know that traveling to a different country, learning, and working with others has to have a significant impact on Lee students.

Snail Mail? Just Remember, the Tortoise Beat the Hare

   

     With this day and age, the postal service is not as widely used as it once was. The article, Gloom of the Night, describes the decline in postal use and its importance to us. What was once one of the only forms of communication is now deemed as only semi-important. Mail is used heavily today to transport goods, but if you want to tell your mother "Happy Birthday" from Lee, more than likely it is done via phone call or text message instead of through the postal service. However, the post office at Lee holds high importance and may often be overlooked by students, as are most post offices overlooked.
       However, a passage in the article changed my perspective on postal service. I pasted it below-


    "It wouldn't be far-fetched to argue that the Postal Service has been the most important local institution in our country's history. The Founding Fathers considered it so important that they put it in the Constitution, mandating that Congress have the power to establish post offices. For decades, it was the largest public-sector employer in the U.S. At one point in the 19th century, three-quarters of all government employees were postal workers. In the country's early days, it carried mail by steamboat when no roads existed; it linked California to the rest of the country by delivering mail across the Isthmus of Panama--before the canal was built--using boats, pack animals and canoes.

To this day, the last mile can be an expensive piece of road. Want to send a letter to the Havasupai Indian Reservation at the bottom of the Grand Canyon? The Postal Service will take it there by mule. Need to mail a package to the Alaskan wilderness? The USPS can get it there by parachute. Have to mail something to someplace along Alabama's Magnolia River? The USPS has boats that travel from dock to dock. It has even sent mail via pneumatic tubes, missiles and hovercraft. And somehow, it costs just 44¢ to get a letter anywhere within the U.S."

     Like almost everything on campus, the postal services at Lee affect the students more than we realize. It takes much work to get mail from point A to point B. Plus, if we didn't have the post office, there would be no care packages. Then what would we do? The men, women, and students work hard everyday so that we can receive our postage. So next time you see a postal worker, give them a smile and a thank you. Like everyone, they would enjoy that. 

Mail, Chicken, Computers, and Good Times

    The Paul Conn Student Union, or PCSU, is the focal point for many students throughout the day. The building has several practical uses within it. You can accomplish anything from checking the mail, talking to residential life, or getting a sandwich from Subway by visiting this building on campus.

     Obviously, every building on campus plays some kind of important role. I doubt Lee would build a structure that had really no use. The PSCU is the main student center where students can go to eat, study, shop, or just hang out. A Chick-fil-a, campus bookstore, and Subway are within the building, and most always full of students. It is also equipped with a couple study rooms, labs, the post office, and probably a few more that I have yet to discover. 

     As for affecting the lives of students, it would be a ten on the scale of importance. Its hard to imagine Lee University without the PCSU. It has so many uses, and students probably wouldn't not what to do if the PSCU disappeared for whatever reason.
     I conducted a survey in the PCSU, asking the participants (about 25 of them) what their favorite part of the PCSU was, how many days a week they are in the PCSU, and how important the PCSU was  to them (on a scale of 1-5). The results will be added to the post tomorrow afternoon. Stay tuned!


The Results of the Survey
-6 people said they liked the lobby the most. (to socialize, study, eat, etc..)
-12 people liked Chick-fil-a the best (CHICKEN)
-5 people liked Jenkin's  (coffee drinkers)
-2 people out of 25 said that they like the computer lab  

A Rush of Service

   What you are seeing above is a video of my freshman gateway class charging towards the professor, Dr. Coats, during a service project. Our assigned project for the cloudy Saturday morning was to clean up the Fort Hill cemetery in Cleveland, Tennessee. I was thinking the same thing you probably are right now. "A cemetery?"  I was skeptical at first, but it was actually a great experience and I gained more respect for the deceased, as well as perspective on how fragile life really can be. This was brought on by seeing infants' tombstones and entire families lost at one time. It hit home for me and made me appreciate and value the time I have been given.
     At Lee University, a number of service hours are required for graduation. There are a number of ways to obtain these hours,and it is never a difficult task to find someone in need of a willing and able college student. Some classes also offer embedded service hours, such as the freshman gateway course. In addition, students can go to the Leonard center on campus and have service opportunities presented to them,
     An article, Vocational Exploration through Service: The Effect of Service-Learning on Student Understanding of God's Calling, explains the importance of Christians serving others. Jennifer S. Feenstra, the author of the article. quotes Buechner from 1992 and says:
         "To better understand their vocation, students need to understand themselves and for that with what the world needs."
    She then goes on to say that concept and knowledge of the world and personal identities are expanded by doing service projects. I agree with both statements whole-heartily, and I believe that personal growth can be achieved by serving and putting the needs of others first. 
     The goal of this requirement is to allow students to work for their community and grow personally as they give up their time and energies to help out those who need it. Service hours are a great way to get involved in not only the community but involved in people's lives individually. Deeply focusing on the lives of others can benefit others as well as the server. Students at Lee can grow tremendously by serving others. And you won't graduate if you don't serve. So go forth and make disciples by serving your brother and neighbor.

  Also, you may be wondering why "Fajitas!!" was yelled during the charge in the video. Just for the sake of not leaving it unsaid, the gateway class went to our professor's house afterwards to eat lunch, which happened to be fajitas. Now you know.