By Pete Nowak
For many of you, this is your first university, your first time away from home, your first time in the big city. You’re the innocent little hick kid that gets dropped off by Mama right into the middle of what you’ve dreamed of since you were a wee-young tot. You’re here for the “University experience.” Animal House or Back to School, with parties, frats, co-eds, Led Zeppelin, kegs, lots of drugs, the whole shebang. You’ve left your life of cleaning the pigshit off the tractor for a new mind-expanding experience that will shape your very soul—an education in the limited and excesses of University life.
Well, think again. You’re at Ryerson, dumb-ass.
Although Ryerson has many pluses, overall we’re a school of minuses. And since The Eyeopener is part of the oft-maligned Media, I’ll accentuate the negative. That’s my job. Here’s a quick tour of Ryerson, the Bad:
The library: where else would we start but with the reason for our poor showing in every year’s Maclean’s survey? The decor in this hulking slab of concrete is reminiscent of early episodes of Starsky and Hutch or maybe vintage Shaft. The books themselves are reminiscent of the turn of the century—as in; that’s when they were published. Finding the book you need at the Ryerson library is like finding a Parkdale hooker who isn’t on crack. Forget it.
Next stop: Jorgenson Hall. Another hulking slab of concrete, Jorgenson Hall (which is not named after the guy from Ministry) reminds me of the Roman Coliseum—a crumbling ruin where mighty warriors once fought. If Jorgenson’s falling exit signs don’t kill you, the malfunctioning escalators surely will. It’s only a matter of time before the whole ugly structure crumbles down around us. But that might be a blessing in disguise.
CKLN: the official campus radio station and the friendliest place at Ryerson. Uh, yeah. The station seems to have, over the years, made every possible attempt at distancing itself from Ryerson (which if you think about it, is not necessarily a bad thing.) Widely respected for its programming, CKLN does need some work on its people skills. Since we all pay to keep the damn thing afloat, maybe the station should respect the students a little rather than turning the cold shoulder every time someone walks into their office.
That’s only a small slice of what bites at Ryerson. There’s plenty more, but I’ll let you find that stuff for yourself. Try Student Services, bathrooms, Registration, the Liberal Arts department, RyeSAC, Ryerson sports teams, student apathy…
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