Sure, we’ve got a beautiful view and adventure at our finger tips to experience with some of the great people that go to UH Manoa, but that doesn’t mean UH doesn’t have its problems. Here are the 5 we find most annoying.
1. Everything about registration.
One of the best things for me about graduating in May is definitely that I don’t have to go through another semi-annual hell that is registering for classes. If you or your friends have experienced any of the following–and since you go to UH, you probably have–scenarios, you understand the struggle:
- Waiting a few semesters to take a class only for it to never end up being offered and wondering why we bother to have a course catalog with so many classes that haven’t been offered in years.
- Being told by an advisor that a class will fulfill the WI requirement and then it not actually being WI.
- A class that is critical for almost every one in your major is only being offered at one time with limited seating.
- Having multiple important classes offered at conflicting times.
- Actually getting the classes you need during the registration period and then one or more gets cancelled the week class starts, forcing you to search the bottom of the barrel of the class availabilty list
Registration is all a game of luck, so keep your fingers crossed.
2. Never being dressed appropriately for the weather.
How many times have you gone to class in the morning in a tank top and shorts only to come out of class to a down pour of rain? Or maybe you decided to try a little bit by wearing a dress to class and then being met on campus with the most intense and annoying wind? If there’s one thing everyone who lives here knows, it’s to not count on the weather being the same all day or even the same on the campus. It could be raining at Shidler and perfectly sunny around Bilger. You either take your chances or carry around an umbrella every day. Either way, it seems like we can never win.
3. Trash Day
Anyone who dorms knows how awful the garbage trucks are when they come to empty the dumpsters in lower campus. For what seems like an eternity, we hear the bangs of the dumpsters and the engines of the trucks almost like they are right outside your door. How many dumpsters do we really have on campus? They never seem to come at a consistent time either. If it’s your sleep in day, you better know they’re coming at 8:30. But if it’s your early day, they’re coming around noon to wake you up from your power nap.
4. Selling your books back to the bookstore
At the end of each semester, we’re all trying to get rid of our textbooks if only to try to erase any memory of ever having to take that class. If you’ve ever had to buy textbooks, you know they don’t come cheap. The bookstore tries to lure you back in and offer to take your now useless books off your hands and help you make some money back. You wait in line for 15-20 minutes with your like-new books, thinking about how to spend all the money you’re going to get back. Then reality hits when you get to the front of the line, and the person behind the counter tells you your books “no longer have any value.” REALLY? Well they had value a mere 4 months ago when I spent $300 on them, so thanks for that. If you’re lucky enough that they still will take your book back, you’re lucky to get 15% of what you paid for.
5. Parking
When it’s time to get a parking pass, the line outside the housing office makes any onlookers wonder if there’s a new iPhone release. Convenient parking is so scarce, people actually camp out the night before to get a good spot. And if you commute, you also know these passes can put a dent in your bank account. According to the commuter services website, a full year parking permit is $416. Granted the reason we pay so much for a rectangle of assphault is to pay the salaries of our shuttle drivers, the process of getting a permit can certainly be painful.