"He's no Tom Brady" said the Fireman

Last night my roommates and I were out at the bars and around 10:30 or so we start getting texts from friends asking us what is going on and if we are okay. Sprinklers were going off in Gables North Tower and people thought it might have been our room. It was actually two floors directly above our room. Inside a fifth floor apartment a kid hit the sprinkler with a football and water flooded their room.

As we got back to our room a fireman was outside our door with a wet-vac and asked if we had any damage. There was none that we could tell of immediately.

Just a few minutes ago housing came to our room to check for water damage and it turns out a few of our walls need to be torn down and rebuilt to avoid future mold problems and that such. Apparently the room above us was so bad that those students had to move into the regular dorms, so we actually lucked out a little. But seriously, what is up with Gables North this year? First a fire and now this.

In other news, you all probably know by now that SCOPE got J Cole, but soon to be announced the Whittemore Center has also booked the indie folk rock group The Avett Brothers, which I am very excited for. The show is April 17th.

Well that was actually pretty easy

I didn't even need to make a petition! Effective tonight the Gables and Woodsides quiet hours will be restored to 11PM Sunday-Thursday and 1AM Friday and Saturday. You're welcome UNH. You see what just a little effort can accomplish? Words can't describe how happy am about this. By far the most satisfying thing this blog has ever done. Who's ready to party like it's 2010? I'll gladly except all thank you gifts in alcohol form. Just taking over UNH one step at a time.

Quiet Hours Survey

Attention residents of the Gables and Woodsides, please be aware that an email has been sent out with a brief (3-4 question) survey regarding quiet hours. In the email housing says that the change was in hope of reducing the cost of damages. However, they fail to mention that they have seen no change in damage bills so far this semester. (Their direct quote to me was "very little difference" but didn't say in which direction). Please take this survey to show them that they were out of line by changing the quiet hours without any student feedback. They used the fact that 22% of students polled said it wasn't always quiet enough when they wanted to study or sleep, which is nowhere near the majority of apartment residents. My roommates and I all selected the "10pm weekday and 1am weekend" option, I hope you do the same.

In other news, I just received a tweet saying that ATO has now lost recognition. Anyone have any details on this? UNH fraternities are dropping like flies.

Stay classy, not UMassy.

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.

Like a Pro: Doing Nothing Accomplishes Nothing

Maybe it is my obsession with the American Revolution, the counterculture or that fact that I read the Declaration of Independence and the Port Huron Statement for fun or frequently listen to Bob Dylan, but I love when the people fight for what they believe in.

This is why last week when UNH Dining declared that it would be halting the sale of energy drinks on campus, I was so furious, and when President Huddleston denied the ban, I rejoiced. Listen, I understand that getting worked up over energy drinks is silly, especially when they are much cheaper downtown, but it was the principle of the situation that bothered me the most.

Where do you draw the line? What is the next thing that they will take from us?

President Huddleston reversing dining's decision was a minor victory for the student body over the administration, which is something that really doesn't happen at UNH too often — especially with our mostly passive student body. Many people told me I was overreacting through comments and tweets, but it was clear that they did not see the bigger picture.

It wasn't about the energy drinks to me; it was about responsibility and the freedom of choice.

On Twitter, I half-jokingly tweeted "no taxation without representation" because of how dining made the decision without discussing options with its meal plan-paying customers. People said I took my comments too far and blew the situation out of proportion. But the majority of the students who still wanted to pay for overpriced Red Bulls at the library got their way. If people didn't complain, then come January, UNH Dining services would have been energy drink free.

Doing or saying nothing accomplishes nothing.

It was a small victory for the students. We didn't lower tuition or convince UNH to renovate Hamilton-Smith, but like President Huddleston said, the administration listened to the students. They may have all the power, but we have the vast majority. Students can make a difference on this campus if we care enough to try. We won't always succeed, but we definitely won't if we don't try.

That is why I have decided to do something about another UNH decision that has bothered me this year.

I mentioned it briefly last week, and after discussing it with many students, I have decided it is worth a shot. I will personally be writing a respectful petition and circulating it around the Gables asking that Friday and Saturday night quiet hours be restored to 1 a.m. Like President Huddleston said about the energy drink situation, the administration wants us students to make our own decisions. If we fail miserably, so what? At least we tried. If we don't try we have already failed.

If the majority of Gables residents are willing to sign the petition, they have to at least listen to us. UNH might not be a democracy, but America is, and the majority usually wins. I say usually because we all remember the 2000 presidential election.

Is this a major problem on this campus? No, it isn't. But it is a start and something that many students care about, and you need to start somewhere. The one-hour makes a huge difference. The bonus features such as more freedom, responsibility and independence of the Gables and Woodsides are what make them special to the students and worth the extra money. The reason for the change in quiet hours was that housing cited a survey where students complained about noise levels, but I believe the majority of students would prefer the 1 a.m. quiet hours.

During the week, 10 p.m. is understandable, but on the weekends very few students are ready to go to bed or quiet down at midnight. This is not even an issue of being able to party later, but much like the energy drink situation, what comes next? Will there be CAs on every floor like the RAs in the dorms? You may think that will never happen, but did you expect the quiet hours to change without warning?

Many students, such as myself, were annoyed that the change was not announced until after the room selection process was completed and we would have lost our deposit if we sought to live elsewhere. The new quiet hours are not the end of the world, but it is a matter of responsibility.

Obviously, students will not get everything we ask for all the time, but I believe it is worth a shot.

Stay classy, not UMassy

Like a Pro: Priorities and Contradictions at UNH

Note: This was written Sunday, before more information had been released on the Dining/Energy drink fiasco. At last word, President Huddleston has delayed the ban over the outcry of the student body. At least one administrator has common sense because either way we can get our drinks cheaper (although less convenient) downtown at the DUMP or Store 24 (even though it's not Store 24 anymore, that's all I'll ever call it.)

During my four years at UNH, I have noticed that many people on this campus, including faculty, the administration and the general employees do not always have their priorities quite right and they often contradict themselves and one another. I believe that it has become apparent that there is not enough communication between the different levels of school employees. Often times decisions are made without asking the students opinion, or more problematic, too small of a survey sample.

The priorities and contradictions that surround people at this school are often quite mind-boggling. We have a few current examples that prove my very point. Take UNH Dining for example. I know I pick on them a lot, but some of it is deserved. Ever since I've been here they have tried to promote healthy eating. They even went so far as to remove all the salt shakers from the tables at the dining halls and replacing them with expensive salt and pepper mills. Yet, this semester we returned to campus only to see that possibly the healthiest food source on campus, Panache, had been replaced with a Dunkin' Donuts. Personally, I don't mind this, I love their iced coffee, but it seems like a bit of a contradiction. No salt for you! But have all the Boston Creams you want. Then more news came out that effective in January all UNH Dining services will no longer serve energy drinks. Thankfully, President Mark Huddleston intervened and put the rule on hold.

I have two predictions if the rule is put into effect: It will cause the entire university's GPA to drop a full point and the number of students falling asleep in class will skyrocket. Dining, let me get this straight, salt and energy drinks are bad for us, but it is okay to put a Dunkin' Donuts in the middle of our student center located in the heart of campus? Stick to your guns about healthy eating, sustainability and local support or don't bother. Seriously, UNH dining flip-flops more than Mitt Romney.

Here is another example that deals with the faculty and administration. By now we all know about the Professor Larkin situation. He exposed himself to a teenage girl and her mother in a Market Basket parking lot and was given a three year probationary period where he won't be able to teach and only do research. I wonder if a male student were to be caught doing the same thing what the outcome would be? Probation? Expulsion? Would faculty members support a male student who pulled something like this, or would it be different? We have many student organizations and student support groups on this campus that completely focus on eliminating problems like this, but many of our professors portray Larkin as the victim.

UNH Housing doesn't stray from the pack either. For the first two years of my college career I lived in the regular dorms. I was a proud resident of Williamson Hall as a freshman and as a sophomore I was in Devine Hall. Last year and this year I have been lucky to live in the Gables. When I made the transition housing said that living in the Gables you have more freedom, more privacy and personal responsibility. Then what do they do? Move quiet hours up to be the same as the dorms. This does a few things. Here is my hypothetical prediction. This will drive more of the "party" students off campus.

Personally, if I knew about the change ahead of time, I would have avoided Gables and got an apartment this year. That extra hour makes a huge difference on the weekends. I also believe more students could potentially lose housing do to quiet hour violations that lead to alcohol and other more serious violations. It's the student's own fault, but midnight comes fast on a Friday night. Again this could lead to more students moving off campus and into Durham and the surrounding towns who already despise students living in residential neighborhoods. Durham and UNH relations are already tense and they have been for years and this could potentially add fuel to the fire.

UNH has so many different departments and levels of authority that it would be nearly impossible for them to not contradict themselves or one another. I believe there is going to be a greater need of cooperation and communication especially when the budget cuts begin having an even greater impact.

Stay classy, not UMassy.

Quiet Hours Changed in Campus Apartments

So over the next two weeks I have a few posts in store so I can pick up my blogging frequency as move-in weekend approaches. Speaking of which, I'm on the Gables move-in crew, so if you're lucky I'll drop all your favorite possessions. Anyways, I opened up my internet this morning planning to post something I have saved in my drafts. But first I checked all my emails and saw something that has completely rubbed me the wrong way. And surprise, surprise it is from none other than UNH Housing.

The email consisted of move-in weekend information, it spoke of renovations to the Woodsides and Gables apartment and all that stuff. But this is what hit me the wrong way:

We’ve made a few changes in policies. The one that might be the biggest is that we moved quiet hours back one hour so that the UNH Residence Halls and the UNH On-Campus Apartments have the same standards. Quiet hours will begin at 10pm on Sunday through Thursday and at 12:00 am on Friday and Saturday evenings. This may be tough for some to have to quiet down an hour earlier, but overall, we believe that this is best for the communities and best for consistency.


This is a bigger outrage than UNH Dining replacing Panache with a Dunkin' Donuts. (Which is was I was going to write about, but honestly it doesn't bother me as much as other people have complained.) This is a bigger outrage than when Dining replaced all the salt shakers with a few of those big salt and pepper mills. This is a bigger outrage than the spy camera. This is borderline state funding cut outrage.

The best part about living in the Woodsides and Gables are those added perks that you don't get in the regular residence halls. You know, the added personal freedoms that comes with experience on a college campus. Things like not having an RA on every floor and having that extra hour are huge bonuses for the students that live in the campus apartments. In fact, many of us pay higher housing rates just for that reason. I might as well move back into Williamson if we're gonna be babied like this.

This is clearly a power move by UNH and Housing to try and curb the party atmosphere of the Woodsides and Gables. Listen, the 10PM weekday move doesn't even bother me. But if you've ever lived in the Woodsides or Gables, you know how nice that extra hour is on Friday and Saturday nights. If I knew about this move ahead of time there is noway I would be spending my senior year in the Gables. It really is that much of a difference. I am planning on letting housing and the apartment staff know how bad of a decision this is and I hope you do too. (Feel to email apartment director Michael Saputo at michael.saputo@unh.edu).

Stay classy, not UMassy.

PS: Is housing going to read me a story and tuck me in at night too? See you in two weeks. I hope my stereo is loud enough for you all to hear what I really think about this.

PPS: Can I at least have my dessert or do I have to go straight to bed?