Student Just Doesn’t Like University Anymore

Entering his third year at Texas A&M University, junior political science major Harry Danielson feels differently about the university than he has in the past. In prior years, Danielson couldn’t wait to get down to College Station to reunite with his friends, spend time on campus, and learn from world-class professors. Now, that spark of excitement has gone missing.

Due to the current state of the world, things are different at Texas A&M University. In-person classes are few and far between, and opportunities to hang out with friends, on campus or off campus, have dwindled. In every regard, according to Danielson, the value received from being a student at Texas A&M has been greatly diminished. The cost, however, has not changed at all.

“I just feel like the University is dead set on milking us dry,” Danielson said. “I get that this was originally a farm school, but I wish the university didn’t treat us like livestock to extract value from.” Danielson went on to say that this wasn’t how he always felt. In his first two years on campus, he was happy to pay the tuition because of all the experiences he was able to take part in, like sleeping through lectures and looking at his phone in the stands for the entirety of football games. Now, Danielson says, everything feels like an elaborate ruse by the school to get him to cough up more of his parents’ hard-earned money.

“Zoom lectures just aren’t the same — I feel like I haven’t learned anything this semester, especially when compared to past years. Going on campus to catch a meal with friends isn’t fun anymore because of the social distancing we have to do. That same reason has made football pointless — can you imagine how I would be crucified for mugging down with my date? Now only the team scores, not the 12th Man. This pandemic has ruined my college experience, and I don’t think it will ever be the same again.”

Danielle Trejo, a student who had contracted the virus and wanted to share her negative experiences surrounding COVID-19, agreed to comment for this story. Unfortunately, she could not be reached for comment since she is currently in the hospital on a ventilator.

This sentiment has been echoed throughout the student body this year, almost as if the university has been caught red-handed profiting off students amidst the pandemic. Many students were ambivalent at best about their feelings for the university, with one going as far to call President Michael K. Young and Chancellor John Sharp “the robber barons of our time.”

Clearly, the righteous fervor that held the university together is in danger of becoming the next casualty of the pandemic.

 

– CTE-Walk