Things you LOVE about UND!

[Admiral Ackbar]

It seeems like a lot of the time we're here whining about whatever, but I don't think a lot of us would be going to school at UND if we didn't like the majority of what goes on.  So let's go: what do you truly LOVE about UND?
(no sarcasm allowed!)

I love the trees on University next to all the Greek houses.  I also love watching all the Greeks chill on their lawns (someone has a tire swing now!).

[Sal Atticum]

I love UND in the summertime (is that okay to say?)!  It's quiet, not for lack of students, but just because I get a nice, lazy feeling when I ride around.  The sun is shining, the trees are waving in the breeze, and everyone seems so focused, but in a casual way.  I enjoy the look of the coulee, and the continuing effort to beautify campus, and the fountain.

[Admiral Ackbar]

I'm surprised nobody else has responded.  Thanks Sal!

Here's someone else who has good things to say about UND students.

College kids: You've gotta love' em
Dorreen Yellow Bird
Herald staff report - 08/09/2008

My sister, Liz, told me the RAIN (Recruiting American Indians into Nursing) program is in the middle of orientation for students who will come into the nursing program this year or next.

Until that moment, it didn’t occur to me that summer was nearly over and school was about to begin in Grand Forks. It’s been one fast summer for me. I hardly had time to enjoy it. I did little bird watching, and now it’s almost over. I guess I’ll have to be satisfied with the fall bird migration.

Liz complained to me about the stories of the billionaires in North Dakota, which, of course, result in our state coffers bursting at the steams. She, of course, is for helping the students with tuition and expenses with some of those bucks. And not just incoming students, but students who were at UND before the oil revenues started pouring in. I remember one legislator (I don’t remember his name) who suggested that some of the student debt could be forgiven for students who stay and work in North Dakota — and maybe added to our population with children. If that wasn’t what he said, it should have been.

Incoming and graduating students are a good investment.

Something I’ve learned here in Grand Forks is you meet a lot of UND students, and some become your friends. But UND is a turning wheel, students come and go — round and round throughout the years. I see some of the students, especially those from Fort Berthold, from time to time. They change. When they begin their career, they take on the responsibilities of their roles in our communities and seem to evolve from students to adults. A few weeks ago, one of my nephews returned home to White Shield, N.D., for a visit. He was one of those students who had a real good time at UND, if you get my drift. After we said our hellos and how are you, he said, now that he’s a teacher, he really felt sorry for those who taught him in years past. We smiled. He is doing great things and maybe his experiences — positive and negative — helped him to be a better teacher, who knows.

College students are amazing when you think about it. They learn in classes such as chemistry, literature, philosophy — the thousands and thousands of words — from teachers from the past and all over the world who speak to them from books so heavy they need ointment for their backs to carry them. They listen to professors hash information over and over they’ll test on one day during that semester.

So, I wonder sometimes about their carelessness, maybe bravery, when crossing University Avenue on the campus at UND. If you’ve ever driven that course through the university during a class break, it will take years off your life. Some of the students seem to have no fear. They walk right out into the street, nose in a book or ear buds and iPods blaring in their heads. Few stop, look and listen like they were taught in grade school.

A few years ago, I was driving down University Avenue at night. There was a pickup in front of me that swerved sharply and stopped. I crawled slowly forward to find a young woman lying in the street. Students were running from the buildings and the street to the scene. I could see they had their cell phones working, and I knew someone must have called the accident in, but I called, too, just in case. Altru officials said they were on it, and it was only minutes later that the ambulance pulled up. Before the police shooed me down the street, I saw the girl and she looked so still. I checked on her the next day. I don’t think she was seriously injured.

As crazy as the students can be sometimes, they make our community a good place to live. They are our future.