This is my TNH column for the week. It basically expands on what I said last week, but I wanted it to get a bigger audience.
Despite what you may think, I do not always write about partying, barhopping, and being generally awkward. This is college and college life is so much more than those things, especially here at UNH.
For example, there is also hockey. If you are an ill-advised freshman or an upperclassmen who has been living in a box during your time in Durham, hockey is a major part of UNH culture. Our fans live, breathe and die Wildcat hockey.
Friday and Saturday afternoon activities in the fall and winter consist of body painting and sign making. I grew up about a half hour drive from campus, and ever since I attended my first game as a 9-year-old, I looked forward to the day I could stand in the student section.
For the past three seasons, I have only missed a handful of home games and some of my favorite memories of my time at UNH relate to hockey games. If you do not get that excited feeling in your stomach this time of year or irresistibly smile every Monday morning when you pick up your student ticket, you are not a true UNH hockey fan.
UNH hockey fans are our own breed. We are proud of our school, our team and our classmates who make up the team. We may not know the players on a personal level, but you would never know that by the way we support them through good times and bad.
While every student has the right to get tickets and stand in the student section, UNH games are for the most dedicated students. There is a reason why the student section sells out, usually as well as the rest of the arena, for every game. UNH hockey games are for those true UNH hockey fans, not just the students who show up to games just because it is the thing to do.
The season is underway and so far things have been shaky for the team on the ice. They lost a lot last year, but they also return many key players and will be looking for younger players to step up. For the dedicated fans, the slow start has not been too much of a surprise, but we fully expect the team to improve throughout the season and transform into a true contender.
Have faith, because we have Wildcat blood running through out veins and the season is still very young.
Those of you who attended Saturday night's game against Boston College probably noticed a few changes among the crowd.
Namely, the super-fans who have led the student section for years have moved on and passed the cowbell down to current students. This has given us a great opportunity to create new traditions as well as carrying on the old classic ones that make the Whittemore Center one of the best college hockey arenas in the country.
The Wildcat Army, the name the new student leaders have taken up, has brainstormed new cheers, chants and songs. They can be found on Facebook and Twitter by searching their name if you want to learn more. Flyers and cheer sheets are in the process of being made.
Nothing annoys me more, apart from terrible refereeing (cough Hanson brothers), than students who show up to games and don't participate in the cheers. Or even worse, they mock their fellow students who work hard to make the Whitt the intimidating arena that it is. The irony of a kid wearing a "we are the 6th man" t-shirt leaving the game halfway through the third period kills me.
It may take a few more home games for the crowd to return to its normal rowdiness because of the transition, but we believe that this is for the better and will help current students create a better bond with the team. While hockey is, always has been and probably always will be UNH's top sport, we shouldn't forget about our other student athletes who wear Wildcat colors.
While schoolwork may take priority over some games, it is important to try and show your Wildcat pride for all the different sports. Football, both soccer teams, volleyball and field hockey all have a handful of home games left and the basketball and winter sports season is just around the corner. Try to make it to a few of those games to show your Wildcat pride, because college is the last chance you have to really have a connection with the athletes you cheer for.
Stay classy, not UMassy.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Hungover Hockey Thoughts: A PSA to the fans
I haven't got out of bed yet, but here are some very quick thoughts on the hockey team so far. They are obviously off to a slow start, but I have no fear. We have a very young team and it is going to take some time for them to all get on the same page. That being said, I expect nothing to change for the home opener. In fact, I think we need to be louder and rowdier. Top ranked BC is coming off a 4-2 loss to number 3 Denver and UNH is in dire need of a win; or a goal for that matter. We need to get the Whitt rocking tonight and show the team that we still fully support them. We have the best home crowd in the country and let us prove that again tonight.
The superfans of old have moved on and it is now time for the students, and The Wildcat Army to take over. We have a few new cheers ready to unleash. One of the biggest things is that we are looking to keep the student section noisy without too many silent pauses. Hockey games are for the hockey fans, not students who just show up because it is the thing to do. Participate in all the chants and wear white.
Here is an Adobe link for some of the new cheers and for the old one's check out my Hockey Chant tab at the top of the blog.
Stay classy, not UMassy.
The superfans of old have moved on and it is now time for the students, and The Wildcat Army to take over. We have a few new cheers ready to unleash. One of the biggest things is that we are looking to keep the student section noisy without too many silent pauses. Hockey games are for the hockey fans, not students who just show up because it is the thing to do. Participate in all the chants and wear white.
Here is an Adobe link for some of the new cheers and for the old one's check out my Hockey Chant tab at the top of the blog.
Gorgeous.
Oh yeah, The Dude hates the Eagles too. Fuck 'em up, fuck 'em up, BC sucks!
Stay classy, not UMassy.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Hey SCOPE, we're waiting...
Nonsensical Nation, it has been a while. How are you? I have been beyond busy lately, I seriously read an entire book yesterday. Like 272 pages in one sitting. I'm not complaining though, this is college and there are some weeks that kick your ass and others that you can go out every night without worrying. That being said, I have will not have time to start gathering signatures until maybe tomorrow morning, but the weekend seems more likely. Sorry, but for now my colloquium and other work comes first. Usually I'm not that way when it comes to blog stuff, but I know nothing will be done until housing releases their new survey and all the data is collected. Like they said, it won't be an overnight knee-jerk reaction.
Now, I do have a bone to pick with another group on campus. I hate to say this, but SCOPE, you are officially on the New Hampshirite's hot seat. Something I just made up while halfway through typing that sentence.
A few days ago SCOPE began inviting people to their annual Homecoming fireworks they put on with CAB. However, the invitation lacked one key feature. The Homecoming comedian. Umm, what's up with that? The Homecoming comedian is a big tradition at UNH and we haven't heard a peep from SCOPE. They haven't even announced the date for the day they release their first show announcement. Homecoming is even later than usual this year and they still couldn't get anything done.
Listen, SCOPE takes a lot of heat from the student body, but for the last two years I have stood by their side, even when I don't like a particular artist. I understand that they are trying to please all types of music fans and that they are also students. They are not professional show hosts or promoters. They are students just like you and me. That being said, there really shouldn't be any excuse for them not having a Homecoming comedian or even a single peep of a show announcement.
So SCOPE, before I take this too far, what's going on? I've heard rumors that you are unorganized and unprepared. I hope those aren't true because this is my senior year and I am hoping for some awesome concerts on campus. Who knows, maybe they're purposely doing things differently this year. Saving up for fewer and bigger shows instead of 3 or 4 average level concerts. Until they make a move, we're just going to have to play the waiting game.
Stay classy, not UMassy.
Now, I do have a bone to pick with another group on campus. I hate to say this, but SCOPE, you are officially on the New Hampshirite's hot seat. Something I just made up while halfway through typing that sentence.
A few days ago SCOPE began inviting people to their annual Homecoming fireworks they put on with CAB. However, the invitation lacked one key feature. The Homecoming comedian. Umm, what's up with that? The Homecoming comedian is a big tradition at UNH and we haven't heard a peep from SCOPE. They haven't even announced the date for the day they release their first show announcement. Homecoming is even later than usual this year and they still couldn't get anything done.
Listen, SCOPE takes a lot of heat from the student body, but for the last two years I have stood by their side, even when I don't like a particular artist. I understand that they are trying to please all types of music fans and that they are also students. They are not professional show hosts or promoters. They are students just like you and me. That being said, there really shouldn't be any excuse for them not having a Homecoming comedian or even a single peep of a show announcement.
So SCOPE, before I take this too far, what's going on? I've heard rumors that you are unorganized and unprepared. I hope those aren't true because this is my senior year and I am hoping for some awesome concerts on campus. Who knows, maybe they're purposely doing things differently this year. Saving up for fewer and bigger shows instead of 3 or 4 average level concerts. Until they make a move, we're just going to have to play the waiting game.
Stay classy, not UMassy.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Notes on my meeting with Housing
So I just got out of an hour long meeting with UNH Housing Director Kathy Irla-Chesney and Director of UNH apartments Michael Saputo to discuss quiet hours at the Gables. It went pretty well and I think that there is some room for progress.
Right off the bat they said the quiet hours are NOT set in stone, however they do not want to have a knee-jerk reaction. They want more student feedback just to be sure that this is something that the majority of Gables residents actually want. I obviously can't prove that without a petition or a survey, but I will be knocking on doors this week looking for signatures and asking for any additional feedback.
As for their reasoning, this is where things get really interesting. The first thing I asked was what exactly the survey asked and what the responses were. Michael had the numbers on him and showed me. The first few questions were like "do you like living in the Gables?" and "would you recommend them to a friend?" and those had positive responses in the 93-95% range. The three questions he had highlighted included "are you able to sleep and study with the noise levels" and "do you feel respect from those in your building/community?" Those had positive results at 78% and 72%. Still strongly positive, but not necessarily a call for alarm. Michael said about 50% of Gables students filled out the survey, which is enough to get a good idea of how students feel. However, this is not directly related to quiet hours. Obviously no one is doing homework from 12-1 on Friday and Saturdays.
They will be issuing a new survey sometime in October that addresses quiet hours more directly. This will be very important for determining what course of action they are going to take.
However, this survey was not the only reasons they provided. Over the summer they met and discussed how the Gables buildings had accumulated more than twice the amount in damages then any other dorm. Both parties agreed that while the damages are usually done by non-residents or those who live in other dorms. No one is going to trash their own building when they have to pay for it. However, I made the point that while Gables residents are responsible for their guests, students travel from the other dorms on their own and it is usually out of control for the host and it kind of seems like the Gables residents are being punished for actions done by students from the dorms. They both admitted to not thinking of that and made notes of it. They believed that over the last few years many students had been traveling to the Gables because of the extra hour around 11:30 and they thought moving up the quiet hours would cut down on the student traffic to the Gables and prevent damages. However, this is just an observation and not a fact.
When I asked if they could tell a difference in the damages so far this year compared to last year, they admitted there wasn't much of a difference at all. I think that is important to note.
They admitted looking back on the decision that they wish they got feedback from the students first and this is something they want to improve.
Moving forward they are hoping to hear more from students on this and other issues. There are currently no Gables residents on the student council so that can make it more difficult to communicate with the residents. The most important thing moving on is to take the upcoming survey and let your opinion be known. They really are taking this seriously and are willing to work with the students.
One other possible option they brought up is about registering events. Gables residents have the option to register an "event" (party), which allows 22-24 people to be in an apartment as opposed to 13. So far this year not one Gables event has been registered and they said one option would be allowing registered events to remain until 1 a.m. while unregistered events would end at midnight. This is a possible solution and will be mentioned on the survey. Registering an event does not attract more attention, let's face it, if you're having a party, they will hear it anyways. It does ask that you inform your neighbors and have them sign off that you told them about it.
That pretty much hits on everything we discussed. So for now wait for me to come around with a petition and be ready to take their survey. If I can get around half of the Gables to sign off there is a very good chance we can make this happen.
Right off the bat they said the quiet hours are NOT set in stone, however they do not want to have a knee-jerk reaction. They want more student feedback just to be sure that this is something that the majority of Gables residents actually want. I obviously can't prove that without a petition or a survey, but I will be knocking on doors this week looking for signatures and asking for any additional feedback.
As for their reasoning, this is where things get really interesting. The first thing I asked was what exactly the survey asked and what the responses were. Michael had the numbers on him and showed me. The first few questions were like "do you like living in the Gables?" and "would you recommend them to a friend?" and those had positive responses in the 93-95% range. The three questions he had highlighted included "are you able to sleep and study with the noise levels" and "do you feel respect from those in your building/community?" Those had positive results at 78% and 72%. Still strongly positive, but not necessarily a call for alarm. Michael said about 50% of Gables students filled out the survey, which is enough to get a good idea of how students feel. However, this is not directly related to quiet hours. Obviously no one is doing homework from 12-1 on Friday and Saturdays.
They will be issuing a new survey sometime in October that addresses quiet hours more directly. This will be very important for determining what course of action they are going to take.
However, this survey was not the only reasons they provided. Over the summer they met and discussed how the Gables buildings had accumulated more than twice the amount in damages then any other dorm. Both parties agreed that while the damages are usually done by non-residents or those who live in other dorms. No one is going to trash their own building when they have to pay for it. However, I made the point that while Gables residents are responsible for their guests, students travel from the other dorms on their own and it is usually out of control for the host and it kind of seems like the Gables residents are being punished for actions done by students from the dorms. They both admitted to not thinking of that and made notes of it. They believed that over the last few years many students had been traveling to the Gables because of the extra hour around 11:30 and they thought moving up the quiet hours would cut down on the student traffic to the Gables and prevent damages. However, this is just an observation and not a fact.
When I asked if they could tell a difference in the damages so far this year compared to last year, they admitted there wasn't much of a difference at all. I think that is important to note.
They admitted looking back on the decision that they wish they got feedback from the students first and this is something they want to improve.
Moving forward they are hoping to hear more from students on this and other issues. There are currently no Gables residents on the student council so that can make it more difficult to communicate with the residents. The most important thing moving on is to take the upcoming survey and let your opinion be known. They really are taking this seriously and are willing to work with the students.
One other possible option they brought up is about registering events. Gables residents have the option to register an "event" (party), which allows 22-24 people to be in an apartment as opposed to 13. So far this year not one Gables event has been registered and they said one option would be allowing registered events to remain until 1 a.m. while unregistered events would end at midnight. This is a possible solution and will be mentioned on the survey. Registering an event does not attract more attention, let's face it, if you're having a party, they will hear it anyways. It does ask that you inform your neighbors and have them sign off that you told them about it.
That pretty much hits on everything we discussed. So for now wait for me to come around with a petition and be ready to take their survey. If I can get around half of the Gables to sign off there is a very good chance we can make this happen.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Fire at North Tower
Earlier today a fire was started in the Gables North Tower, where I happen to live. From what I was able to observe and gather, in a sixth floor apartment a girl had incense burning. Apparently she thought it was out and threw it in her desk where it caught papers on fire. It must have spread pretty quickly because a ladder truck was used to access the room and possibly to get the residents out of the building.
Oh yeah, the girl with the incense had already been written up by fire safety a few days ago.
Only that one apartment had fire damage, but the room below it had water damage. Five towns responded with fire trucks including Durham, Lee, Dover, Newmarket and Exeter.
No one was injured, although there were paramedics on scene. Residents were kept out of the building for at least an hour before being allowed to return to their rooms.
There is a reason why we're not supposed to have incense and luckily no one was injured because of that apartment's ignorance and carelessness.
That is all I know for now, here are a few pictures I snagged with my really crappy camera phone:
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Quiet Hours Update
I received a second email from David May today. It read: I copied Kathy Irla-chesney, Director of Housing on the email. She is very interested in working with you to make the right decision for all the residents at the Gables. Kathy said-“Her goal is to provide a living community that allows students to socialize while maintaining an atmosphere where those who want to sleep or study at night can do so. There are many ways we can gather feedback and ideas and move this in a positive direction. In fact it might strengthen the community.” This beings said, she would very much like to work with you to make the right decision for the Gables Community. I am hoping you could find time to meet and help us.
That sounds pretty good to me... for now. I am extremely busy right now, but I am hoping to squeeze in a meeting with them sometime next week. Please let me know what you think, especially if you are Gables or Woodsides resident. I want to present something respectable and reasonable. I am taking my time out of my schedule because I believe that 1 a.m. quiet hours on Friday and Saturday nights at the campus apartments are what most students want. I'll keep you posted as I learn and go through more.
Stay classy, not UMassy.
Update: I will be meeting with the director of housing and the director of UNH apartments next week to discuss the new quiet hours. Please let me know what you think of the situation. I am your representative on this situation, not the student senate. I will be asking for 1 a.m. weekend quiet hours to be reestablished.
That sounds pretty good to me... for now. I am extremely busy right now, but I am hoping to squeeze in a meeting with them sometime next week. Please let me know what you think, especially if you are Gables or Woodsides resident. I want to present something respectable and reasonable. I am taking my time out of my schedule because I believe that 1 a.m. quiet hours on Friday and Saturday nights at the campus apartments are what most students want. I'll keep you posted as I learn and go through more.
Stay classy, not UMassy.
Update: I will be meeting with the director of housing and the director of UNH apartments next week to discuss the new quiet hours. Please let me know what you think of the situation. I am your representative on this situation, not the student senate. I will be asking for 1 a.m. weekend quiet hours to be reestablished.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
So Walking is Hard...
Earlier today I was sitting in the library reading for about three hours. It was a book I need to read for my colloquium and I can always focus better at the library than at my apartment. After about an hour I had to go to the bathroom. I was in the big reading room on the fifth floor and sitting on the couch in the corner. I stood up and shuffled between the couch and then I took my first step only to realize that my entire right leg was asleep. My knee buckled and I almost fell. Almost. I regained my balance and did that foot stomp move. I continued toward the door, but did that weird limping thing the whole way there. The entire time I could hear people trying not to laugh. So if you were there, yeah, that was me. So smooth...
In other news, if you didn't see below, the Mast Road cat was found and returned. Well done people.
Also, I just got back to my room for the first time since this morning and I had a message from Chad, the editor at TNH. Apparently David May (Vice President of Business Affairs I believe) wants to talk with me about my last column. I know he was involved with the energy drink situation, but my last column mostly focused on the new quiet hours at the Gables and Woodsides. I'm emailed him and will run updates about the situation. I'm very interested in hearing what he has to say, but the last time something like this happened it began the on-going two year war with Dining.
Stay classy, not UMassy.
Update: Already heard back from David May. He said "I just wanted to get a better understanding of the issues at the Gables." I replied: "The only issue is that many students are upset by the earlier quiet hours at the Gables and Woodsides (especially on the weekends) that were put into effect this semester. I believe that the majority of students would prefer the one a.m. quiet hour as opposed to midnight on Friday and Saturday nights. I am hoping to write a respectful petition for the former quiet hours to be restored in a timely manner and will circulate it to gather signatures and show that I have support. Thank you and let me know if you have any further questions."
In other news, if you didn't see below, the Mast Road cat was found and returned. Well done people.
Also, I just got back to my room for the first time since this morning and I had a message from Chad, the editor at TNH. Apparently David May (Vice President of Business Affairs I believe) wants to talk with me about my last column. I know he was involved with the energy drink situation, but my last column mostly focused on the new quiet hours at the Gables and Woodsides. I'm emailed him and will run updates about the situation. I'm very interested in hearing what he has to say, but the last time something like this happened it began the on-going two year war with Dining.
Stay classy, not UMassy.
Update: Already heard back from David May. He said "I just wanted to get a better understanding of the issues at the Gables." I replied: "The only issue is that many students are upset by the earlier quiet hours at the Gables and Woodsides (especially on the weekends) that were put into effect this semester. I believe that the majority of students would prefer the one a.m. quiet hour as opposed to midnight on Friday and Saturday nights. I am hoping to write a respectful petition for the former quiet hours to be restored in a timely manner and will circulate it to gather signatures and show that I have support. Thank you and let me know if you have any further questions."
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