COLUMN: A graduate’s final thoughts
With only a week to go until graduation, I prepared to turn in my last college project: a 31-page assignment from hell.
I was already a few minutes late, so I hustled up to the front desk at a computer lab to pick up my printouts.
“Thirty one,” I told the student employee. He swiped my card and punched in the number.
“BEEEEEEEP,” sounded the stupid card-swiper machine. You never want to hear the long beep. The short one means you passed. The long one means you messed something up.
“It looks like you’re one printout short,” he said.
Grrrr . . .
Then, some stranger piped up, “I’ll get that last one for him.”
The worker swiped his card, punched in a one, and I was on my way.
“Thanks,” I told my mystery friend.
His only response: “Pass it on.”
I haven’t seen him again. With graduation right around the corner, I doubt I ever
will. But he saved me six cents and a headache.
It’s not too big a deal, I know. But the little things count.
I spent several hours last week helping a friend clean up the Spectrum after a men’s basketball game. Talk about a pain. It took the 20 of us until midnight just to clean the seats. Yet, someone always makes sure the place looks spotless. Someone always rakes the leaves on campus. Someone always shovels the snow. And someone always makes sure the buildings are open, heated and clean. To all USU staff and volunteers who make campus look nice and feel warm, thanks. The little things count.
Thanks to the many professors on campus who take a few extra hours to prepare a lecture or meet with students outside of class. All of us have had a teacher who inspired us on to better things; many of us would have chosen different majors without them. You didn’t ever want to miss their class. It’s not that you were afraid of an attendance check or a docked participation grade, but rather you felt that hunger to learn that only the best teachers can arouse in us. No more important profession exists out there than that of a teacher. Some days professors might not feel like they accomplish much, but touching just one student will have eternal consequences. The little things count.
Thanks to university administration and ASUSU for making a concerted effort to listen to student concerns, even if your hands are tied just as much as ours. With the decline in upper-class students this year and consequent budget shortfall, something had to be cut. Yet, President Albrecht and company have promised to retain all funding for student initiatives from our Tier-II tuition dollars. We might get frustrated with the system from time to time, but we do appreciate your good-faith efforts to listen to students. The little things count.
Thanks to the other behinds-the-scenes staff and employees at USU – advisers, administrative assistants, accountants, the Registrar’s Office and Parking Services among others (of all people, the Registrar and Parking Services people get the brunt of our criticisms). It might not be an easy job, but thanks for doing it. Lines at the Registrar’s Office look shorter. And just a week and a half ago, the university unveiled 600 new parking spots on the west end of campus. Thanks, guys. The little things count.
And after Wednesday night’s victory, thanks to Aggie fans whose creative hostility always makes basketball games such a treat. I could go without the childish, “You, you, you, you, you . . . SUCK” and “Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid” cheers that are becoming all too frequent. But everything else deserves our commendation. My favorite chant from Wednesday night’s game: “You will miss it,” as a Ute player shot a free throw. He made it, only to be ridiculed immediately with the crowd’s cheer, “You still suck.” The “happy hands” behind the backboard on free throws and the peer-pressure kissing during timeouts are always highlights. When it comes to creative hostility and an overall good time, you can’t beat the Spectrum. The little things count.
No one out there is a self-made man or woman. We’re all in this together. Thanks for the memories USU. I won’t soon forget it.
Pass it on.
Jon Cox is a senior majoring in print journalsim. Comments can be sent to jcox@cc.usu.edu.