Eating at Commons

On August 1st, 2014 NKU opened the renovated Norse Commons. The new layout and building  looks absolutely beautiful. It is an all-you-can-eat dining option that contains 6 food stations. It was a $2 million project that made NKU students thrilled to start this new year. However, IS NORSE COMMONS TRULY THAT GREAT?

I asked Adrian Motyka his thoughts on Norse Commons. He stated,

"I have been living on campus for two years now. I was happy to see the change from the old Norse Commons to the new Norse Commons. The new building is beautiful and I am grateful for the new setting. However there are still multiple things that still bother me, such as the slow service!"

For one week, my friend Adrian and I would compile a list of things. We would eat at Norse Commons at least twice a day. We were determined to point out all the things the new Norse Commons lacked or needed improvement on. Here were some our findings:

1. The service is ridiculously slow!
During the one week I counted a total of 4 times I had to wait for a server to come to the station and serve me. I found myself waiting at the food station for someone to serve me. I remember an incident where I waited so long that I decided I would go back behind the counter and serve myself. Often I found myself waiting and would see a group of employees in the back talking to each other not acknowledging the hungry students waiting in line for their food.

2. No forks, knives, and spoons!
Occasionally we would find ourselves utensil-less. Different meals would call for the use of different utensils. What good does a tender prime rib do without a knife? I found myself getting frustrated having to walk to different utensil holders, just to find nothing in any of them! Why have all this delicious food when you cannot use anything to eat it with? Unfortunately, when there are utensils available, the utensils are never fully cleaned! Adrian often found the forks and knives he picked up still had food remnants on it.

3. Employees are rude!
Yes, everyone LOVES Mary Pat! However, one employee cannot carry the kindness for the whole team! As you walk into Norse commons you are usually greeted by Mary Pat. Mary Pat is a wonderful women who cares and greets students at the door. She always has a smile on and loves conversation. However, we noticed all the other employees have an attitude. Simple comments such as please and thank you, yes ma'am and no ma'am, or hello and goodbye are never acknowledged by the servers. I feel I only am allowed to talk to them when I need a specific food or specific amount of food.


Come on NKU! Make these changes and the New Norse Commons will live up to its potential!

-Jonathan Hoey

"Are we in Chicago?"

People know Chicago as being called "The Windy City", well the students and faculty of NKU may call this campus "The Windy College." No matter what the weather may be at Northern it will always be windy on the weather forecast. The buildings surround the center of the campus where people walk to classes and it creates a big vortex wind tunnel and will catch you every time you are walking. Advice to students is to carry a brief case or backpack, definitely do not have papers in your hands because the wind will knock them out and blow away.

NKU has a lake known as Loch Norse that students can gather around to enjoy a nice scenery, and watch the wind blow across the water swiftly. This lake has not always been known as Loch Norse, the article below explains how it became. If you have not walked down beside this lake, go and take a look at what this great campus has created.

NKU lake finally has a name - Loch Norse

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Northern Kentucky University Board of Regents approved today the renaming of the university's campus lake to Loch Norse.

During the spring 2006 semester, the NKU Student Government Association and the school's Alumni Association sponsored a contest to name the newly renovated lake at the center of Northern's Highland Heights campus.

The lake, previously known as Lake Inferior, has undergone a dramatic $2 million transformation during the past year and has become a focal point of campus that invites student involvement. The area now includes waterfalls, walkways, a bridge and amphitheater.

In recognition of the substantial changes and enhancements of the lake area, SGA recommended that the name of the lake be changed to reflect these improvements. NKU students, staff, faculty and alumni were asked to participate in the naming contest by submitting suggestions for a new name with accompanying descriptions of the significance of the name and how it would represent NKU.

Submissions began April 14 and were reviewed by a student, alumni, faculty and staff ad hoc committee. The top five were posted on the NKU website for voting, and Loch Norse received nearly three times more votes than any other candidate.

The ad hoc lake naming committee recommended to the university's naming committee that the name Loch Norse be approved as the name of NKU's lake. The committee voted overwhelmingly to support the recommendation.

### NKU ###

For more information, call Chris Cole at (859) 572-6574.

 

 

 -Caleb Crawford

"Are they done yet?"

As you walk around NKU you can see how wonderful the campus is built. Since becoming a state university in 1970, it has come a long way.  Sometimes all of the construction being done gets in the way as students walk to class, whether it is inside the buildings by painting the walls or some type of construction somewhere else around campus. Every week in a school semester you will notice some type of construction. It seems like the maintenance people are always working on something, "Are they done yet?" The work that is done around campus is just to benefit everyone including students and staff, however it gets to be a bother when the hallways are packed full of students and tools are also in the way. What we, as students, need is to be free of the clutter. Maybe they can do it when students do not have class or in the evening times when the population of students is minimized.

The Rec center is a big project that NKU is working on to expand the facility, due to amount of students who go there. The construction is said to be finished in 2015, however “Do we really know when that will be?” It seems like as the days go by little amount of work is being accomplished. Hopefully we will be able to see what the final product will look like before graduation.

 

-Caleb Crawford

Pay to Walk

College is a lot of fun, but don’t be wake up late or you will regret it. Making sure you get there on time is very important to ensure that you can get a parking spot that is in the right vicinity of your class. If you do not get there early then you will have to wait in lines of traffic and still get pushed to the back of the lots. As I have experienced this, I’ve noticed that there are certain rush periods throughout the day time. Between 9:00am-10:00am, 12:00pm-1:30pm these are just a couple of those time periods to watch out for.

Students pay so much for tuition, books and classes, why have to pay $220.00 for an all year pass? If you are late a lot, you just paid that much to walk a mile to class every day. This doesn’t really seem too rationale at all. I think that since students pay too much as it is for college we shouldn’t have to pay that much for a parking pass. So my advice to oncoming students, wake up early and get to school and dodge traffic as you run into it. That way you are not late to your classes.
-Caleb Crawford

Salt EVERYWHERE!

Winter is here and the cold gets worst! One day it is 65 degrees the next day it is 20 degrees. Its the time of year where students need to pull out their scarves and sweaters. The temperature is transitioning into less rain and more snow! With more snow comes more SALT, and I swear NKU is obsessed with salt!

NKU is located on top of a hill. It may seem nice and exclusive from other areas, but with that comes it's downfalls. The constant 15mph winds seem to tear through your clothing and numb your face within minutes. I call the weather, "The Instant Runny Nose." Cold weather brings harsh snow and icy roads. NKU treats its roads, sidewalks, walkways, and  parking lots with salt. The simple truth is, the salt that they use gets everywhere! In shoes, socks, dorms, carpets, buildings, classrooms, and many other places!

I understand safety is a top priority and roads need to be clear but the excessive salt can be cut down. As a student, I have personally noticed that salt is everywhere on the ground around campus.  I live in the dorms and I find myself tracking in a whole bunch of salt every time I walk into my room. I constantly have to vacuum and empty my shoes. Whenever I take my first few steps into the buildings I hear this "crunch" sound from me stepping on all the salt that has been tracked in. Another reason to cut down the salt is it makes all the janitor's lives easier! It would decrease the mess to clean up.

If only NKU would cut down the excessive salt use, it would save loads of money. Money the university can use else where. Just this past year low supplies of road salt has caused the demand and prices to increase. Here is a link to an article from the USA Today that describes this winter's crisis:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/11/17/road-salt-shortages/19179245/

A Junior, named TJ Schuyler, commented about the salt saying, "I appreciate it but it's a little excessive because it gets tracked into all the dorms and the class buildings." Many students views align with Tj's and would like to see the salt use cut down.

I like to put it this way, nothing is ever wrong with calling off school and letting the sun do it's work!

-Jonathan Hoey

Opportunities at NKU

This video is to motivate those who seek a dream of theirs, one that creates a bright future. NKU will help you towards success, through the different facilities and resources that this campus has anyone with dedication will achieve their goals. Having advisors are a big help for success, the reason for that is because they set you up on the path that you should take when going towards the major of students choice. If a student is struggling in a class their advisor can help them in the right direction for help either studying or even doing the class work with a tutor of some sort. Students have to believe and they can achieve success in their college career. Being involved in campus activities such as Greek life, or any other organizations that may help out the community is a good way to stay involved. This helps students not feel as if college is all about the studies but you can also have fun at the same time. If you go to this link below it will show you all the types of organizations that NKU has to pick from. Find one that you like and check it out it doesn’t hurt to get more information on it.

http://www.nku.edu/campuslife/involved/organizations.html




-Caleb Crawford

The Scheduling Transition

Scheduling is upon us! It is about that time to meet with you adviser, plan your future, and schedule classes with those GOOD teachers. Here is the step-by-step play out of how to plan your Spring Semester:

1. Schedule a Meeting With Your Adviser- Email them and set up an appointment! The hold on your account to schedule classes needs to be taken off. This can only be done if you meet with your adviser.

2. Formulate a Plan- Create a 4 year plan and decide what courses you want to take in the future pertaining to your major! It helps if you know what courses you will take and know what goals you set for yourself.

3. Schedule Your Classes- Schedule your classes well! Fit it to your daily routine and sleep schedule. Do you like early morning classes or night classes?

4. Schedule Preferred Professors- Use Rate My Professor! Here is a link that directs your to a source where you can look at the quality of professors throughout the nation. The website judges teachers based on easiness, clarity, hotness, and grades. It provides many reviews about teachers and their teaching styles. I personally find this website extremely helpful in deciding what professors I want to take.

http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/

5. Finish out the Fall Semester- Grind out the last few weeks of this semester! Do not let your grades drop and study for all your exams!

Good luck NKU!

-Jonathan Hoey