End Game

Nardin House - 1980

I have never really left college, though I did graduate some 30 years ago. This summer I joined one of my old peer groups for their annual weekend camping trips. Indeed, a great deal of conversation over the  weekend was around the topic of whether or not I had invited myself. I did, sort of, but I had a standing invitation to the upper mid-west from my friend Nep, who lives in Madison, where we all attended college together. This year the event was held at the new old farm house just over the Minnesota border to Wisconsin and owned by our friend  Rucksie. So that seemed manageable to me as someone who didn't want to fly in for a mere camping trip. Also there, was regular attendee, Wolfie, who lives in the Twin Cities near Rucksie.

It is amazing and comforting to be among people who knew you when you were maturing into an adult. (Maturing being a relative concept here.) I was surprised to learn of some of the quotes and stories these guys had been sharing about me over campfires for the past 30 years. I had forgotten much, and in some cases still didn't remember. But I had my own stories to tell as well, to bring a fresh perspective. The four of us had a terrific time

What I found were - at their core - the same friends who were great at listening, were warmhearted, successful, and compassionate. It was such a pleasure to catch up and to relive the college days and hear of new lives. Some of the memories were painful as we discussed friends we lost not long after graduating. And some were sentimental as we discussed other friends and where they were now.

This all was against the back-drop of some of the most biting, sarcastic, brutal, and hilarious ribbing and commentary I have experienced in years. Part of the comfort of being with old college friends is the speed at which you can resume acting like, well, college students. In addition, it seems that

wiener jokes and potty-humor never get old (one declared himself the "fart-king" of the weekend - a new champion apparently). We all noted at various times that we were professionals and family men. But still, when someone inexplicably falls off his chair in slow-motion (yelling "incoming"), or another describes a recent bathroom trip in detail, the tenor of the conversation and subsequent re-telling of new memories take on their own lives. So yes, we were connected by having deep -- and not so deep -- conversation as we slid back into familiar roles and  as we established new ones. One challenge for my friends to deal with was that I was committed to naps and chocolate. They buried me mercilessly for following the NBA draft at the campfire. To my horror, though, I learned that none of these friends understood any references to current music, Breaking Bad, or Game of Thrones. They seemed to prefer chores.

I love working with college students. Not just because they keep me current with pop-culture. For me, the strong friendships I made, then, have never faded. (And I am glad to have the peripheral ones have been revived thanks to Facebook, by the way.)

Nep, Wolfie, Rucksie. A-mid-wives!

This particular group of friends formed on my dorm floors my first two years at UW. Another group grew from my time as an RA in Ogg Hall. What blessings. And so it is gratifying as I see some of our own students find the same. Whether through their residence hall friends and roommates, athletic teams, theater, fraternities and sororities, course work and research, many find some of the same connections I did. I hope so anyway.

Today, most of our students find themselves at the beginning... of college, or the rest of their lives. Many wonder what comes next. Maybe just as important, they should think about what comes last. Along with selecting majors, going to graduate school, and finding jobs, something else will hopefully endure: The friendships. Before they know it, they will look up one day and remember when it all started. And where it led. To the end game.

Package Deal

I am asking students to think outside the box. The mailbox, if you will. For some time I have been discussing changes to the Coates University Center, and those changes are finally coming to fruition. Part of what sparked this was consolidation of Central Receiving operations on Kings Court with the Mail Center operations at the Coates Center. From an efficiency and business standpoint this made sense.

Additionally, I have wanted to move the mailboxes out of the Coates Center. On most campuses, mailboxes are in the residence halls. Our halls don't have main desks or spaces for boxes so they have been centralized up in Coates since 1987. They were actually placed in Coates to drive student traffic into the building.

The problem is that we have been using our best real estate in a prime location for static mailboxes. It is kind of like putting your air conditioner in your living room. But it is all we know so we haven't really questioned it. If you have toured other campuses, however, you quickly note that most have more current, modern, dynamic and interactive spaces in their university centers than we have in ours. We have fallen behind. At the same time, our building has a certain amount of charm to it and we don't need a new one. Most comparable institutions have their dining hall as part of their University Center - but we don't. What we need our space to be is not merely a pass-through facility, but a destination place.

Departmental mailboxes have been moved to CSI. We have moved the student mailboxes to the Tigers' Den, which will also serve as a game room. The only downside for students in all of this is that packages will now be distributed from the Central Receiving area on Kings Court.

So far, that hasn't been popular with students. Mostly there are concerns with distance and parking and waiting. This summer, additional measures have been implemented to try to minimize some of the issues. As with most decisions, there are choices to be made and trade-offs to consider. I ask our students to be patient in this transition and to consider what they are getting (a better University  Center, year-round) versus what they are losing (package pick-up in the center of campus). If each student considers the handful of times he or she receives packages against the potential increased use of the University Center as a gathering space, the trade-off will be worth it. 

When students return in August, they will find a much more comfortable and student-friendly place to relax, study, hang-out, and hold events. Among the changes:

- There will be a variety of seating options in the main lobby for those who want to sit at tables, sit in small groups, or work on a large table.
- The former mailbox area will feature technology options and a television as well as several different seating options.
- There will be tables with umbrellas outside of the mailbox area window.
- Upstairs Coates will feature small study areas for individuals and groups and a lounge area with recliners and sofas that can be extended for naps by collapsing the end caps.
- The Commons will hopefully feature a less obtrusive drink station and a new sandwich line.
- We hope to have the Commons open from morning to night without interruption.

Down the road, there will be many bigger changes to the facility as centers developed in the strategic plan will result in office re-locations throughout the building.

Most any change on a college campus is met with skepticism, initially. I assume that our students will love what they see, but will bemoan the issues with package pick-up. Give it a chance. Our students deserve a true University Center. These changes bring us much closer to that.