No school is perfect, but as we are sheltered here in Statesboro–hours away from major cities–it’s easy for us to forget that fact and get caught up in everything that annoys us about our school. We whine about slow busses and long Chick-Fil-A lines, but we don’t even think about schools that don’t offer a transportation system or, worse, don’t even have Chick-Fil-A. Here are only 9 of the few things that we Eagles take for granted to put our complaints into perspective.
1. Small city
We complain about the “SMall” (Statesboro Mall), the limited restaurant options, and the city of Statesboro in general, but we rarely stop to think of the advantages of living in a smaller city. You can get to almost anywhere in Statesboro in 15 minutes or less, and what we call traffic is a joke to major cities. All it takes is a trip to Atlanta to remind us that we’re lucky to not have to deal with tricky one-way streets, bumper to bumper traffic or long drives to our destination.
2. A great football team
Even though I’m not a huge football fan myself, I couldn’t imagine going to a school where the football team sucks. It’s hard not to catch game day fever as students, parents, locals, and alumni alike all gather to cheer on our Eagles with unbridled enthusiasm. Schools that have constantly losing football teams will never know what that prideful fanatic energy is like.
3. The RAC
It took reading an article about the struggles of finding a good gym to make me realize how lucky we are to have the RAC at our disposal. When we graduate, we’re going to have to pay out of pocket for a decent gym to stay in shape, and it still probably won’t have the rock wall, racquetball courts, and intramural fields that we have currently.
4. Numerous student organizations
Georgia Southern has more than 280 student organizations for us to choose from. That’s more than 280 opportunities to find a club you’re interested in, to make friends, and get involved with the campus while having something extracurricular to put on your resume. Georgia Southern also makes it relatively simple for students to create new organizations and gives these organizations perks like the ability to reserve on-campus rooms and table at the rotunda.
5. Beautiful campus
We all know that Georgia Southern is beautiful but rarely do we think about the upkeep that must be involved with making the campus stay that way. Who takes care of the ducks at the pond? Who makes the grass so green and the flowers so lively? A lot of work must go into making the campus so pretty year round, yet this nice environment is something that many of us take for granted.
6. Buses and free parking
Please take a moment to forget about the time you “unfairly” received a ticket for parking on campus, and instead think about how lucky we are that we have our own bussing system and free parking at the Stadium. With this Statesboro weather and our unwavering laziness, there are many of us that would not make it to class if it weren’t for these features.
7. Fun night-life
The plaza is literally within walking distance of many of the dorms and only a hop away from the heart of campus itself. Georgia Southern students love to party and although times have been rough lately with the increase of police surveillance, we still find ways to make the weekends worthwhile. Some cities have clubs that will make you pay $10+ to get inside. We Georgia Southern students can scoff at those prices.
8. A generally safe environment
Speaking of police surveillance, we should all realize how nice it is to be able to feel relatively safe while going to school. Several tragedies on college campuses have occurred in the past few years, and we Eagles are lucky to never have to truly experience that kind of fear. We are also quickly alerted to any potential dangers on or off campus.
9. A fast-growing student body
Each year the student body of Georgia Southern seems to double in number. Having so many people to elbow on the bus can be annoying, but on the bright side it’s becoming obvious that we go to an amazing school and that other people are realizing it too.