As a Clarkson University alumnus, I was intrigued by this bit from The Watertown Daily Times: Clarkson University, Potsdam, and St. Lawrence University, [SUNY] Canton, both received high marks for their environmental efforts in the 2009 edition of the Princeton Review's "Best 368 Colleges."
It's the first year that the New York-based educational services company has evaluated schools' "green ratings," based on their environmental practices, policies and course offerings. On a scale of 60 to 99, Clarkson scored a 95, while SLU scored 87.
Though I was equally interested to notice some other distinctions 'awarded' to Clarkson.
The primarily engineering and business school ranked third in the country for "This is a Library?" and 12th for "Least Beautiful Campus." The university also was voted No. 15 for "Least Happy Students" and No. 19 for "Class Discussions Rare."
Clarkson's library is certainly an embarrassment and aesthetically, it is an ugly campus.
The primary function of the university is to produce obedient, focused drones for mega-corporations like Boeing and IBM. So perhaps it's not surprising they are so grumpy, apathetic and not prone to vibrant discussion.
The assistant to the president for strategic advancement said that Clarkson's bad ratings were actually a good sign.
She explained, "Overall, I think students from technical institutions are often more candid in their responses, and I think that fits with our academic environment and the curriculum we have."
This displays the kind of mental gymnastics that an African information minister or Bush administration spokesperson might admire.
So maybe there is some creative thinking going on at the university.
4 comments:
Hi Brian, interesting comments on your alma mater. I am a 1964 grad and a Trustee. While there are a lot of students who pass through Clarkson looking for the ritual of a full time job, I think there are- increasingly- many students like yourself who choose a career path with plenty of creativity. There are also many courses taught in a team environment (SPEED comes to mind) that prepare graduates for much more than a robot-like lives. I have always thought of the campus as a bit of a sanctuary in the Adirondack foothills- and, though the library is worse than ugly, Cheel and Snell are nice pieces of architecture. The new student center will begin construction in the spring. Hope you come back and take a look.
Jim Wood '64
powerjim@aol.com
Jim,
It'd certainly be wrong to say I didn't very much enjoy my time at Clarkson. Nice people, some engaging professors. And it's certainly true that people with complaints tend to be more vocal than those without. I agree the new Snell is a nice building, though it is but one building. I did enjoy my time but I didn't want to be oblivious to the other parts. In any case, I usually go up every year or two.
Regards,
Brian
Wow. As I started reading this post, I was almost certain that someone with such strong critical analysis and communication skills would be a St. Lawrence graduate!
Will wonders never cease! ;)
NB: I don't normally post anonymous comments but I made an exception in this case as the jealous SLU grad amused me. :-)
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