If the SHU fits…

…wear it-or bear it?
A shoe begins roomy. One walks around like a duck for a while, getting used to the extra space; but slowly the foot starts to fit, and the shoe comes into its own, adjusting to the needs of the wearer.
Then the day comes – usually when everything is broken in perfectly, and the scuffs are sweet memories of places one has traveled – that the shoe doesn’tfit anymore. Even tying up the laces is a challenge. A new home for one’s toes must be found in a bigger, sometimes flashier version of the original.


By Amanda Cochran,
Editor-in-Chief
…wear it-or bear it?
A shoe begins roomy. One walks around like a duck for a while, getting used to the extra space; but slowly the foot starts to fit, and the shoe comes into its own, adjusting to the needs of the wearer.
Then the day comes – usually when everything is broken in perfectly, and the scuffs are sweet memories of places one has traveled – that the shoe doesn’tfit anymore. Even tying up the laces is a challenge. A new home for one’s toes must be found in a bigger, sometimes flashier version of the original.
In recent years, Seton Hill University, affectionately called SHU, has experienced a process very similar to the story inspired by its homonym. We have grown, gotten a little roughed up by the process and purchased a new version of the original. We admire the new SHU.
However, we still grow. Visions of a colossus SHU, fit for Herman Munster-sized student body, keep us up at night.
In 2003, the total number of students was 1,637. This year 1,880 students pack into classes, residence halls and dining facilities. Incoming freshman classes have risen by nearly 100 students since 2003, according to the Registrar’s Office. Surprisingly, the freshman class has decreased in size since last year, however, from 335 to 314. The overall number of students, however, keeps growing exponentially.
Attempts have been made to put on the new SHU in recent years. New residence halls, athletic teams, facilities and fields, and big plans to extend into downtown Greensburg with a performing arts center and a family therapy center and are just some of the flair SHU touts on its new kicks.
The question looms, however: Are we equipped now to accommodate this many students?
The influx of this year’s student body has already put a strain on some campus offices and facilities.
Perhaps the most noticeable space is Lowe Dining Hall. With a capacity of around 400 students, the dining hall must turn over or, in other words, have students eat and leave three to four times during the peak lunch hours of 12:15 p.m. to 12:45 p.m., according to Darren Achtzehn, director of food service.
�It’s just as chaotic as last year,� Achtzehn said, but added that the addition of 40 students can have an effect on the ability to serve students. Consequently, the addition of around 64 students this fall, in meal plans and commuter lunches, really affects dining hall service.
�We know there is a difference,� Achtzehn said.
To address that difference, dining hours have been extended by an hour and a half, a cold prep cook was hired to make sure food would always be available on the line, and eight-foot long tables and additional chairs are expected to grace the dining area in the limited space still available.
Achtzehn said there is conversation in the University Board to take the food stations out of the dining area and place them elsewhere. He said he does not know when that is going to happen, but added that the University has been making progress by �leaps and bounds� in regard to students� needs.
Let’s hope.
Dominic Nino, a sophomore, said he feels cramped when he comes into the dining hall.
�I always feel like I�m going to drop my tray on somebody when I walk through,� he said.
Nino added that he altered his schedule so he could come in when fewer students are eating.
Achtzehn said plans are in motion but as of now, �We�ll try to scrunch them and squeeze them in as good as we can.�
The same thing seems to be happening in the parking lots around SHU. On the first day of classes, a sea of vehicles could be seen flooding the campus� hills and dales.
Mike Dell, chief of campus police, said parking perpendicular to the road was partly due to student teaching orientation during the first three days of class.
�Things seems to be settling down,� Dell said. A quick review of his D-Lot surveillance camera feed says so. Some spots are empty and traffic flows generally well.
Last week, campus police performed an hour-by-hour analysis of the parking lots to make sure parking was available.
If parking is not available, Dell said, campus police officers will direct drivers to park in the grass.
This is not an option, however, if parking spots are available.
Dell said the growth of the student body doesn’tseem to have affected the amount of crime on campus so far.
�With having this many young people in one area things are going well,� he said.
Dell added that this year seems to be better than the last. � Overall, I have to say I am pleasantly surprised,� he said.
�Growth is a good thing. It’s all about growing pains,� he said.
The Writing Center is also feeling those pains. Kim Pennesi, coordinator, said scheduling presentations to introduce freshmen to the Center has been a �scheduling nightmare.� She said because of time constraints, presentations to the 23 sections of �Basic Composition� and �Seminar in Thinking and Writing� have been cut down to a basic understanding of what the Center can offer students.
Pennesi said in the past few weeks more students than ever have been using the office’s services. She attributes it to the writing intensive label now attached to some of SHU’s courses, but also said that students this year students seem to be seeking out services.
�We want to be busy, and we are,� Pennesi said. �We hate to turn people away, so make an appointment.�
The bigger student body also likes its activities. Jaimie Steel said at a recent movie showing at least 50 people came to see �The Break-Up,� starring Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn. The movie was moved from the new cinema room in Sullivan Hall to an Administration Building conference-style room to accommodate the crowd.
�Those are good problems,� Steel said. �I�m glad that so many people wanted to get involved.�
SHU is new, and it continues to grow. The fit is sometimes less than perfect – that we all know; but with some more time and a �Hazard Yet Forward� attitude, the SHU – our SHU – will come into its own.
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