I’m sure that you have heard negative comments about the University of Windsor a lot. Maybe you’ve even been the person to contribute some of these comments. But why are people so quick to bash our university, and wish and hope that they could be anywhere else? Obviously, we’re not perfect, are we expected to be? And yes there are things to complain about and maybe you don’t agree with everything that’s decided. I understand it and where you are coming from. However, having a negative attitude towards your school is getting you nowhere. You should start looking at everything that our school has to offer rather than what it doesn’t and maybe you would be more satisfied with it. Here are some of the great things about our University of Windsor.
1. Our campus is beautiful!
A lot of campuses in Ontario and even around the world do not have the courtyard areas that Windsor has. You would be surprised at the lack of grass the majority of universities have. We have spacious grass areas where students can have a picnic, play sports or just sit and enjoy. This year they have added nice walk ways, more grass, outdoor tables with plugs, and benches where you can hangout with your friends. This puts our university ahead of many others in the outdoor space and the beauty of nature aspect.
2. Our campus is small.
You may not believe that this is a good thing, but it literally only takes about 5 minutes to walk from one end of campus to the other. While larger universities it could take you 15 minutes just to get from one class to another. Carla expands on why having a small campus is a plus, “It’s a small campus, I do not need to commute my vehicle to my classes, unlike other universities that have larger campuses that are spread across the city.” Many Students enjoy being able to walk from class to class without the worry of being late, and it’s a plus when it’s raining or icy outside.
3. Other than a physical sense of size, we have a small student population; which means we have smaller class sizes and more one on one time with professors and GAs.
It is easier to meet friends in your classes as you will probably have a lot of the same people in many of your classes and will recognize their faces, as you would not in classes of 300 plus people. Alumni Nikki Turner comments on this aspect of Uwindsor. “My favourite thing about UWindsor was always the small class sizes. The largest class I ever had (and it was in my first year) was around 150 people. But I also had classes that had 7 people. At UWindsor I was a person, not a number.” One of the largest complaints of university students are that they feel like a number; no professors know their names, and wouldn’t recognize them as they are grading a paper or exam. At our school it is much easier for you to get to know your profs and vice versa.
4. We have a lot of coffee options.
Between the two Tim Hortons on campus, two Brown Gold cafes, and Green Bean right around the corner, you will never run out of coffee at UWindsor! Kyndel points out the serve yourself coffee bar when asked what her favourite thing is; “I seriously love the new Timmies self serve in the CAW Marketplace. Now I don’t have to wait in the 20 minute line for my morning coffee, I can just grab it and go!” All of these great options make it easy to grab a coffee on the way to class, or to grab lunch while your studying. Green Bean is one of my favourite places to go to study and have dinner and I’m very glad that it’s so close to campus.
5.We have great connections with international universities.
Many students dream about going abroad in their undergrad years or some point throughout their life. Windsor pairs with many universities across the world in many countries including England, Australia, China, etc. to offer the student exchange program. You can follow this link for a list of countries and what universities we have connections with, and for more information. This is an amazing opportunity that many student participate in each year, and we are lucky enough that our university has so many connections and are able to send you almost anywhere in the world.
6. We have an abundance of clubs.
If you walk through all the booths at club days you would see just how many clubs our university has. We literally have a club that would suit anyone. From a green club, to sororities and fraternities, to Get Real, and so much more! If you ‘re not part of a club, go join one and utilize what our campus offers to you. When asked what her favourite thing about campus is, Kalie Grainger replied with, “I’d say that one of the positive things about UWindsor is all the clubs and opportunities they have for you to get involved on campus. I know for me my life wouldn’t be as great as it is if I hadn’t joined my sorority, Phi Sigma Sigma.” Involvement on your campus can be what makes or breaks your time at University, and our campus as so many opportunities for you to join a club or sports team that you will love.
7. We are environmentally friendly.
The University of Windsor has made a huge effort to go green lately. From adding recycling bins next to almost every garbage on campus, to having solar panel lights on sunset, living walls and green roofs around campus, and even having water saving toilets in a lot of the bathrooms, our university has made a real commitment to going green. On this note Emily Buschman says, “I really like the free water bottle fill ups and how it tells you how many plastic bottles we’ve saved for each fill up. Go green!” Making an effort to go Green and be environmentally friendly is very important to myself and many other people, and for a university to take interest in this show huge initiative. Going green is not a cheap thing to do, but will help our future. Especially when a school does it, and encourages their students to do the same.
These may not seem like a lot to you, but all these things make UWindsor our campus. Love it, or hate it, you’re already here so you might as well look at the positive and make the most of it!