IKB… Easy as 123…

So as of today, my PPE classes have been officially moved to the Irving K. Barber learning center.  There’s been a lot of excitement over the place being finally opened, and I’ve got to say, even though it’s not entirely finished, it looks really sleek.  The lecture hall we’re in is way bigger and much more comfortable than the one we had in Buchanan.  I mean, it’s nice to have a big table instead of tiny little desk-like things.  Also, it’s got a pretty neat tech setup.  it’s got these built-in overhead projectors that  project a digital image of what the professor puts under it, so he doesn’t have to get transparent sheets or anything.  On the other hand, both of my professors in that lecture hall seem to have a preference for smaller rooms and chalkboards because both of them like their lectures to be more of a dialogue between students.  I suppose it’s harder to  have a dialogue with students when you’re in a massive lecture hall.

 Back to the fancy equipment…  There was some AV guy in the room all day to instruct the profs on how the equipment was used, and for some reason he got really touchy whenever students went near the panel that controlled it, as if we were going to break something.  Actually, when I got to class a little early I heard a pretty offensive conversation between the AV guy and someone from campus security…  Apparently at Irving K. Barber they have really big problems with food and drink in the lecture halls.  I never thought of it as a big deal, I mean there are vending machines everywhere in the buildings, it seems kind of natural to assume they don’t mind if we bring them into the lectures.  I can understand that it can be annoying when students leave their wrappers or cans or whatever in the rooms (it’s wrong anywhere; lecture halls aren’t special) but the sheer venom I heard this security officer talk about students’ behaviour was just upsetting.

Actually, a lot of the way I’ve seen some of the administration handling IKB is upsetting me a bit.  I mean, a lot of the aspirations I’ve heard about the place say that they intended it to be a hub for students… Like, a place they could gather and talk and meet after class.  But every time I’ve been there it’s been treated just like another library.  If you speak above a whisper you get glares.  I just never feel welcome there as a student.  I understand that the place hasn’t quite been finished yet, but I really hope it won’t always be like this, because the feeling it gives me when I’m there falls far short of how it was intended.

On a happier note, me and Sam are rapidly approaching our bi-anniversary (An anniversary is a celebration of one year.  I stay away from terms like “six-month anniversary”) which will be very nice.  I don’t think anyone expected us to last this long, but I feel quite good about it.  When I think about it, the school year is almost over.  There are only three more days left in February, and then another two months.  I’m surprised at how fast it’s gone.

Oh god…  I just realized I’m turning twenty in April.  There’s a whole mess of stuff to think about now.