Four years after graduating with a degree in physics I'm returning to school. I've always loved learning. New facts, viewpoints, and skills are a thrill to acquire and I'm ecstatic about the opportunity I'm carving out together with my wife to collect a new bushel of these in the field of radiology. I'm counting down the days until classes start, and have already read the first chapter or two in the books I've bought. I'm excited to be back on the university campus.
The campus, in particular, has turned out to be something I didn't even know I had missed. When I walked around the campus recently to fill out financial aid forms and speak with an academic counselor I took in with glee just being on a college campus. I adored looking over artwork and artifacts displayed in hallways and lobbies of the health professions building. I enjoyed the bustle of the student union and looked over message boards to see if any clubs, bands, or activities would catch my interest.
The college campus is a great reflection of the community made up by a college or university. So much of community is ethereal these days that the physical presence felt on a college campus is refreshing. Being 'at the office' has this too, but so few workspaces also include socialization, recreation, or relaxation spaces in them as well. All is devoted to getting the job done, whereas on campus the goals of creating a positive culture and promoting student interaction also seem very present in the consideration of the buildings and landscapes.
I also love the diversity of a college campus. Diversity often refers to a high degree of heterogeneity in skin colors, sexualities, and other traits with which the human race sadly divides ourselves into factions, but that's not to what I'm referring to here. I love that the art building is on the other side of the student union from the business school. I like knowing the computer science building is across the quad from the mineral museum. I love the diversity of opinion, of interest, of passion, of expertise, or of study represented by having buildings devoted to so many varied pursuits together in one place.
The university experience and the role of post-secondary education is changing rapidly in our society. Online classes are quickly gaining traction and more and more people are realizing that the bachelor's degree often doesn't carry the same value it once did and may not be worth the price tag it often carries. I support this and believe that post-secondary education and career training needs to be more readily available in an assortment of forms (and that high schools need to teach more career training and less academic fluff seemingly only to fill the time until you finally go to college and learn something useful...hopefully, but all of that is a different discussion entirely). That said, I hope there will always be a place for the grand college campus that seems to include a park or two, community message boards and meeting houses, and building after building devoted to disparate intellectual pursuits.
