I really liked my time at the University of Calgary, I made many friends, learned many things, and made unforgettable memories. Academically, I was fortunate to have an expert in my research area as a tenured professor. I liked the school’s focus on academics and the campus has a certain charm to it. I liked the faculty, I liked the facilities, and most importantly I liked the overall experience. Nevertheless, there were a few things I did not like about the University of Calgary. Primarily, my issues are with the administration; particularly with their history of increasing student tuition while remunerating the executives with very large bonuses and their repetitive attempts to extinguish student culture on campus. Though it is not unheard for university admins to increase tuition while paying themselves handsomely, UofC’s admin has raised tuition for three years running since the last freeze ended. To me it is extremely unfair to demand more money from students (many of whom go into debt for this education) while building new multi-million dollar facilities and paying Board of Governors and administrative executives exorbitant amounts. Not to mention that the university has been quietly getting rid of support staff like department secretaries and cleaning staff. Apart from the administration’s financial choices, my other issue with UofC is the lack of campus culture and the administration’s curtailing of such events. Bermuda Shorts Day was a hallowed tradition at UofC that went back decades when the school was founded. After a hiatus during covid, the student body hoped BSD would make a full return last year, which did not happen at the behest of the administration that wishes to have a higher degree of control over campus culture. UofC is a commuter school so the campus is already devoid of student culture outside class hours, this is extremely harmful for the student community that could use campus culture to network and meet future work colleges, though more importantly is the community itself. Attacking campus culture is attacking the university student life which can hinder professional and personal development for many of the students.
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