Michigan Facilities Lacking
This might seem mundane, but it's the off-season so whatever.
I'm taking summer classes at the University of Pittsburgh to get a little change of scenery and so that I have a better reason to root for Pitt in sports. My first reaction from walking into a classroom was "Holy crap, this is much nicer than Michigan." I'm accustomed to the depressing Dennison classrooms, complete with white walls, dull linoleum tile, chalkboards and chalk dust that coat everything, and as many desks possible squeezed into those small classrooms, each desk with just enough surface area to rest one arm and little else. Contrast with Pitt classrooms, with their HGTV worthy interior design, marker boards, spaced out desks that have enough space to fit a textbook, notebook, and a laptop. Needless to say, I'm insanely jealous and dread having to go back into that cursed Dennison building.
Now it comes time to get my swell on at the gym because this summer is about getting right both mentally and physically. Of course, I decide to wear my Michigan t-shirt to properly represent and so everyone can see that people who go to Michigan are jacked and tan and they should aspire to be like us. My first reaction to walking into the gym was "Holy crap, this is much nicer than Michigan." I've experienced all the rec centers Michigan has to offer, but damn dude, it's ridiculous how much nicer the this Pitt rec center is. There is so much more equipment and higher quality, too. Plasma screen TVs adorn the walls and floor to ceiling windows provide some nice scenery. Also, unlike the CCRB, the weights and benches are not crammed together in some poorly ventilated, low-ceilinged room. Added bonus is that the average Pitt female gym goer is more attractive than the average Michigan female gym goer.
Walking around town, I come across Pittsburgh's Basketball Arena, the Petersen Events Center. My first reaction when I see it is "Jesus Christ, Crisler arena is a cesspool compared to this." Granted, the Pete is like brand new and Pitt is much better than us at basketball, but I could imagine being a D1 recruit and visiting Pitt vs Michigan, and the difference between the facility tours would be ridiculous. If I were holding offers from both schools, it would be no contest. I imagine most basketball arenas in the country are nicer than Crisler, and the fact that Michigan did not have any dedicated basketball practice facility makes me wonder how we landed any good recruits at all. I'm sure the aesthetically pleasing qualities of the Pete are a pretty large factor in Pitt's basketball success, as top recruits would rather play at a state-of-the-art arena like the Pete instead of a rundown gloomy building like Crisler.
These are only three of many aspects about Pittsburgh that are superior to Michigan. I mean they might seem trivial, but I think it's kind of ridiculous that I'm paying significantly more tuition for a similar education and inferior facilities. Maybe this is just Pitt being awesome, but I doubt it. Maybe I'm just being a negative Nancy and should go change my diaper. But while it's great to be a Michigan Wolverine, we're supposed to be the leaders and best and right now I'm pretty envious.
Anybody else have experience with other campuses and how they compare?
Honestly, given how enormously expensive tuition is at this school, I'm content to keep using the same old buildings, rather than find yet another excuse to make students pay through the nose.
or the majority of the classrooms in Mason/Angel? Palmer Commons? There are so many great classrooms on campus. Michigan is in a unique position where they have an enormous amount of undergraduate students and programs to house and funish. M does a world-class job providing excellent resources to all these students despite some of the buildings (Dennison, East Hall, MLB) being somewhat sub-par.
The OP is hemorrhaging MGoPoints right now.
How bout the B school? I pretty much just stay around there haha
You might have a good overall point, but to think that all of Michigan's classrooms are like the rooms in Dennison is nuttier than a squirrel turd.
I mean I know Dennison is by far the worst, but most of the other Michigan classrooms I have been in still wouldn't hold a candle to these Pitt classrooms.
Not to be an a-hole, but I would expect that the average Michigan student knows that an N of 1 does not make for a proper comparison (a comparison you repeat three times). You compare Dennison of all buildings? I would judge all Michigan students based on your idiotic post (or to be an a-hole), but that would be an unfair comparison to make and then air it over the internets.
I'm just saying that Michigan puts a lot of gen-ed classes in Dennison/Chem/MLB/Mason, which are all on a pretty equal level of suck. The average Michigan student will probably have more than one class in one of those buildings. Many of Pitt's gen-ed classes are held in the Cathedral of Learning or some other building that is much more aesthetically pleasing than Dennison/Chem/MLB/Mason, and the average Pitt student will probably have more than one class in one of those buildings. So I'm basically comparing the greatest common classroom(s) of the two schools. Does Pitt have classrooms that are as bad as Dennison? Probably, but the majority of their student body doesn't pass through there the way Michigan students go through Dennison. Does Michigan have buildings as nice as the Cathedral of Learning? No, and any of Michigan's classrooms that are really nice will probably only be scene by a few students with a specific major.
a-hole.
18,000 vs 26,000 undergrads. Michigan has to have a lot more classrooms. I'm so sorry they are not up to manwiththemoves standards.
Why are you posting on a Michigan board how bad Michigan is and then calling people a-holes?
To be fair, he called himself an a-hole first.
Michigan has more students, yes, but they also have significantly more money and land to work with.
I don't understand why everyone is getting so fired up about this. I was merely posting my observations that a lot of Pitt classrooms are pretty nice and a lot of Michigan classrooms suck (you can't really argue with this). Am I way out of line for thinking that these classrooms could use a facelift? Is wishing that Dennison classrooms were nicer a preposterous and blasphemous idea?
Michigan has history, tradition, and the old buildings that go along with that. They also have very modern and well equipped buildings and a campus and college town that I would guess put Pitt to shame. I would also think that Pitt has its share of older buildings with fewer modern amenities.
Of course I have never been to Pitt, so I can't say for sure...
Frankly, I think the issue is that you started a thread about something which is inane and then continue to respond to everything anyone says and just basically keep saying the same thing.
We get it: you like Pitt's classrooms better. We don't care.
i dunno man, i was engaged in friendly banter until someone called me an idiot and then people started challenging my Michigan fandom simply because I prefer the interior design of Pittsburgh's classrooms to Michigan's. Obviously I touched a nerve.
I think overall the point is that this isn't the time or place for it. Talking about Michigan's classrooms on mgoboard isn't going to change anything, it's only going to upset folks around here.
Go out in the world, make your million dollars in life, and then donate part of back to the great school in the world. Whining on the internet isn't going to fix anything.
But whining on the internet is so much easier.
I can't say rooms in the MLB or Chem building are much of an upgrade?
Dennison, the MLB, and the Chem buildings are all really old buildings. Go into any of the new (last 5-10 years) buildings and enjoy life. The new public health building, the biotech buildings, the new electrical engineering building, the Arthur Miller theater, these are all beautiful buildings with beautiful classrooms and lecture halls.
EECS is not new, its renovated. It also sits next to the mess that is GG Brown/Dow. There's lots of cool stuff up there like the free standing structures lab, but that building is terrible.
I would say the "good" NC buildings are the CS building, the FXB, the Dude, and the Lurie Engineering Center. All were built within the last 2 decades, and they all look pretty good.
Ok Tate.
In all seriousness, though. Always interesting to hear about other campuses.
Negative Nancy,
When Pitt's football stadium is funded with the Steelers and PNC Bank it is easy to fund nifty basketball arena's and plasma televisions in the REC center. If you get your own independent football facilities and even the appropriations maybe it's more even than you think.
Your Friend,
Positive Pete
That's a good point, but if I understand correctly, my tuition doesn't fund the athletic department anyway.
I'm mainly pissed that the Michigan Rec Centers are pretty awful and their hours are steadily reducing and that my classrooms are depressing.
Perhaps you should transfer to Pitt. This could be the best move for you and all of us that have endured your whiny, very un-Michigan Man attitude.
Do not presume to lecture me me on the merits of being a "Michigan Man."
I bring up these deficiencies on Michigan's campus in hopes that they will be remedied so that we may indeed be the Leaders and Best and all you people do is neg me and call me anti-Michigan? HA!
I went through the Michigan experience and have a deep regard for Ann Arbor, the campus, and all that goes along with that. Michigan updates its infrastructure all the time, replacing outdated buildings with less tradition surrounding them with shiny new ones. When I was there the Frieze Building was an eyesore with crappy classrooms and beyond dated interior. Now it is replaced. Dennison will no doubt be replaced in time as well. It is simply unrealistic to expect all older construction to be updated at the same time, or to keep everything shiny and new.
Ann Arbor has a charm about it because of its mix of old and new. West Engineering, containing the Arch, is a landmark and gives the Michigan campus something irreplaceable, yet the classrooms inside were hellish, tiny rooms with no air conditioning and itty-bitty windows. The classes I attended there were all the more memorable for the sweaty experience they provided. On the other hand, my classes on North Campus generally were invigorating because of the modern appeal of the buildings and classrooms.
I take offense to your belittling of my beloved alma matter, and to your less than favorable comparison to a lesser institution of higher learning. If you can't appreciate the Michigan experience for what it is, then again I suggest you go where you would be more happy.
I bring up these deficiencies on Michigan's campus in hopes that they will be remedied so that we may indeed be the Leaders and Best
If that's your goal, write a letter to MSC, not MGoBlog. In the meanwhile, don't be schocked when folks neg your "Pitt is better" post or that bs avatar.
I'm not going to defend the OP in anyway because he comes off as kind of a douche, but being a Michigan Man in no way entails thinking the CCRB is the best gym in the land or that Dennison is asthetically pleasing.
Even if he makes a bad case, we all know that some of the classrooms and facilities in Ann Arbor blow.
For example, if you contrast the new Mojo and North Quad to Markley or Baits, or the Hill Dining Center to the East Quad cafeteria, you'll know that there are lots of facilities that need the upgrades. Yes it sucks that it hasn't happened and there's not enough money or capacity to update everything, but the fact remains that not every aspect of the University is world-class right now.
It's kind of dumb to piss and moan about facilities, as I think we're spending more money than any other school in the nation on facility upgrades, but its even dumber to go on and argue that we don't need any upgrades because WE'RE MICHIGAN, DAMNIT.
A lot of that attitude is what got us behind the 8-ball in the first place.
is one of the worst looking arena in the country. It needs some serious need of renovation. Hopefully, it'll happen after the practice facility is completed.
What they ought to do is just gut the thing and redo it from top to bottom. It might take more than a year and the team would likely have to play one season at the Palace or somewhere else while they do it, but it needs alot more than just a facelift. Maybe someone can send in a letter to one of those extreme makeover shows and convince them to come out and do it?
by covering Crisler with the bus when it comes to move that bus ceremony. I mean, unless you're about half mile away from Crisler, it will overtower the bus. I'd pay for the producer to figure it out. lol
You never knew that Michigan girls were ugly?
I try not to interact with ugly girls at Michigan. At Pittsburgh I rarely see any.
At a fancy cocktail party, a gorgeous model meets a Nobel-prize-winning physicist. They start talking, and the model is very impressed with her new friend.
"We should better the world and have children. With your brains and my looks, they'd be unstoppable!" she says.
"That would be wonderful my dear lady," says the physicist, "but suppose they end up with my looks and your brains?"
I think it's time to sit this one out man.
Which is why I wish more than one of my classes was in Weill. So nice in there.
Hearing this just adds to the pain when your tuition is based on OOS rates. Many schools have done tremendous upgrades to their infrastructure over the last decade. My kids recently graduated with advanced degrees in computer engineering and biomedical engineering - they had virtually new buildings for those programs when they entered Michigan a couple of years ago.
Hey, the Big House is pretty well equipped - better than Heinz Field and it holds a lot more people.
Being a major Div. 1 football program and having to rent the nearest pro stadium to play your games is sort of embarrassing.
I wouldn't say the Orange Bowl was really an embarrassing venue.
Unfortunately, they tore it down. Now Miami has to schlep up to Sun Life Stadium or Land Shark Stadium or whatever they are calling it this year. It's embarrassing.
Why don't you marry it?
The difference is at Michigan it doesn't even matter that some of their classrooms/facilities are lacking, they will get over 30,000 applications for their 5-6,000 spots (not sure on exact numbers). People want to go to Michigan for the recognition the University has in and out of the classroom, not to mention the connections possible with the largest alumni base. All of that said, they need to continue to update classrooms and buildings. I see a lot of construction in the area, but still. A little renovation in classrooms across the entire campus can't be that hard/expensive, can it? At least not expensive with all the money they take in.
I gotta agree that regardless of comparison to other schools, Michigan's rec sports facilities seriously need a revamp. The IM building has the nicest weight room (by a long shot... CCRB is a joke), but considering the size of our student body you'd think they'd add another facility because you pretty much have to skip a class in order to go at a time where you don't have to wait in line for a bench press or get through your planned workout in the time you wanted to (except summer).
The building most lacking of all Michigan sports facilities is Crisler. The ouside and concourse need a MAJOR overhauling. The arena part is getting better, just wish it could be brighter. The outside is old and ugly, like Munn Ice arena, which I am not pleased to say.
"Now it comes time to get my swell on at the gym because this summer is about getting right both mentally and physically. Of course, I decide to wear my Michigan t-shirt to properly represent and so everyone can see that people who go to Michigan are jacked and tan and they should aspire to be like us."
Is your favorite show Jersey Shore?
but he definitely has a new fuckin' haircut.
Jager Bomb
As I was reading this, I was wondering how The Situation got into Michigan.
UM is constantly constructing new buildings. I cannot remember the last time UM did not have at least one project going.
Personally, I think UM has plenty of superb buildings--at least from the outside.
Anywho, I don't have much sympathy. I went to EMU and Pray-Herrold is without a doubt the worst university building in the country. Awful in every conceivable way.
World class everything.
It's not all bad.
is Awesome!
Although I suffered through the construction of it for two years and graduated before the building was open - I recently went back for a conference and was amazed by the new classrooms, cafeteria and facilities for graduate students. It is hands down one of the top five business school facility in the world. If anybody gets a chance, take the tour of the building and go up to the 5th (or is it 6th) floor deck - the view from their is wonderful.
but yah - Dennison sucks! MLB even more so. The good news is that Michigan is one of few Universities that are spending a lot on capital investment even through the recession - so sooner or later the average infra level will improve - although I guess the improvement will first happen for research and graduate education and will trickle slowly into the undergrad parts.
a personal attack but, there is something about your post that says substance is really not so important to you. Maybe Michigan is not the University for you. It's not pretty enough I don't like it theirs is better. Sounds to me like you are talking yourself into a transfer to Pitt, it's okay go ahead and matriculate to Pitt nobody will be angry or call you names, no really it's okay.