B.U. East Campus Center (100 Bay State Rd)

[TomOfBoston]

And this is another example of why nothing is being built in Boston. Having to walk a block or two for breakfast is not the concern of the BRA.

[HenryAlan]

B.U. can and should get customer (ie student) input, but there should be no requirement for it. In fact, just recollecting the things that outraged my fellow students and I back in the day, B.U. might do well not to seek such input. Either way, it's no concern of the BRA whether a developer seeks client approval. That's a business decision.

[AmericanFolkLegend]

Why should BU students have any input into a building that won't be finished during their time on campus? They'll be alumni working by the time the new complex opens. By that rationale shouldn't you open input to all alumni (which kind of seems like a clusterfuck).

[bdurden]

Originally Posted by jass

I hope there is a NIMBY circus. I want this see this project delayed just because of the way BU orchestrated the announcement to not include any student feedback.

I dont disprove of the architecture, I just think it's BS that they announce a major campus change during finals week, and have the comment period be during summer break.

An example of putting personal interests ahead of progress -- how very Bostonian.

[bbfen]

Originally Posted by jass

I hope there is a NIMBY circus. I want this see this project delayed just because of the way BU orchestrated the announcement to not include any student feedback.

I dont disprove of the architecture, I just think it's BS that they announce a major campus change during finals week, and have the comment period be during summer break.

Are you sure it was deliberate? I've often seen large institutions where the real estate office is so removed from academics, they often don't even think about it. Not that it should be that way, but I don't know there's always malicious intent, either.

[jass]

Originally Posted by bbfen

Are you sure it was deliberate? I've often seen large institutions where the real estate office is so removed from academics, they often don't even think about it. Not that it should be that way, but I don't know there's always malicious intent, either.

I am sure it was deliberate. It's like announcing something on the friday before a 3 day weekend. You do it to bury the news. BU is an expert at doing this.

[TomOfBoston]

I have never encountered a university like BU with so many students who hate their school or at least its administration. On this and other forums, there are countless complainers and dissatisfied students. BU has very few programs that are unique or top ranked nationally. If everything that BU is and does is so bad, why don't all the complainers transfer elsewhere?

[czsz]

Newsflash: all universities do this. Where I went to college, the administration's method of dealing with any protest was to wait it out until a vacation, when everyone would disperse.

Students are never considered stakeholders in these kids of decisions. And why should they be? Their presence is usually pretty transient. It's not like they're really going to be around to use that campus plan they said should be based on their personal circulation preferences/consumption patterns/whatever.

[bdurden]

Originally Posted by TomOfBoston

BU has very few programs that are unique or top ranked nationally.

Communications, Management/Business, Law, Creative Writing, Public Health, Fine Arts, Theology, Dentistry, International Studies, Psychology, Hospitality, are all acclaimed BU programs, for starters.

When you have a former administration (i.e. Silber and friends) that for over 40 years didn't give a rat's ass about the undergraduate students, the general feeling is resentment. That said, current students experience none of that and seem to be pulling hate straws. Old habits die hard, but will eventually -- BU is currently investing enormously in the very students who bitch and complain.

[jass]

Originally Posted by czsz

Students are never considered stakeholders in these kids of decisions. And why should they be? Their presence is usually pretty transient. It's not like they're really going to be around to use that campus plan they said should be based on their personal circulation preferences/consumption patterns/whatever.

Because universities rely on alumni donations.

Shockingly, BU does badly in the alumni donations department. I wonder why.

[czsz]

Alumni don't donate because they got input as students. Alumni donate and expect input now. And they usually stick around to see that their investments pay off, or at least go into what they stipulated.

(We're talking about the big alumni donors, right? Universities don't really depend on thousands of checks for pittance sums; they look for the couple dozen people who want to spend millions to put up endowed buildings and such.)

[TomOfBoston]

Originally Posted by bdurden

Communications, Management/Business, Law, Creative Writing, Public Health, Fine Arts, Theology, Dentistry, International Studies, Psychology, Hospitality, are all acclaimed BU programs, for starters.

These are all good programs but not really unique to BU. Syracuse's Newhouse School is considered better than BU for example. None of these programs are top 10. BU Managenent is ranked in the 40's in both Business Week and US News.

What I am saying is that is if the BU administration and the campus environment are so hostile, there are plenty of other schools for these disgruntled students to attend with equal or better programs. There is a small but vocal segment of the BU student populaton that wants to stay and complain, complain and complain.

[AmericanFolkLegend]

What I am saying is that is if the BU administration and the campus environment are so hostile, there are plenty of other schools for these disgruntled students to attend with equal or better programs. There is a small but vocal segment of the BU student populaton that wants to stay and complain, complain and complain.

Not to mention the cost. There are plenty of state schools you could go to for 1/3rd the price that are just as good academically (though rarely do they provide the urban experience the BU does).

[bdurden]

Originally Posted by AmericanFolkLegend

Not to mention the cost. There are plenty of state schools you could go to for 1/3rd the price that are just as good academically (though rarely do they provide the urban experience the BU does).

Originally Posted by TomOfBoston

These are all good programs but not really unique to BU. Syracuse's Newhouse School is considered better than BU for example. None of these programs are top 10. BU Managenent is ranked in the 40's in both Business Week and US News.

What I am saying is that is if the BU administration and the campus environment are so hostile, there are plenty of other schools for these disgruntled students to attend with equal or better programs. There is a small but vocal segment of the BU student populaton that wants to stay and complain, complain and complain.

Actually, BU tends to be underrated (probably from it's loud chorus of haters) but it is not necessarily under ranked per it's graduate programs. You simply cannot get the same education at a New England state school. If we are comparing BU to the California state system, University of Florida, Michigan, etc., then you may be right that the value of your dollar is stronger there.

As you are fully capable of doing this research on your own I am not going to spend the time to list out BU's graduate rankings because it's already been compiled for you. However, I will get you started:

http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsa...hools/rankings

What you will find is that, in general, BU's graduate programs fall only behind Harvard and MIT in MA rankings, and in New England, are comparable or slightly behind only a few other schools including Yale. In a very few instances, BC and Tufts are slightly ahead of BU in some graduate programs but overall BU is much stronger in these rankings.

Hopefully that'll clear up some of the misconception about why students chose BU over other schools.

[HenryAlan]

Vocal complaining may be a part of campus culture at B.U., but it doesn't mean the students are dissatisfied. I had a great experience there, even though I participated in many of the anti-Silber whinefests. The programs are solid, it's an interesting campus in an interesting location (though I'd argue it was better in my day, with the real Kenmore Square), and graduates go on to successful careers.

[TomOfBoston]

I am a BU alumnus myself: Master of Urban Affairs. I like BU and think it is a great school, but I get tired of the constant whining and complaining. John Silber is gone! Get over it.

I have degrees from two other universities and I do not see the same level of school-bashing there as I do at BU. Students and alumni know there are issues but they don't denigrate the schools in public forums the way BU students do.

This latest campus "outrage" re: the East Campus Student Center is a joke. These are probably the same students who complain that they have to walk a mile to get to the FitRec Center so that they can walk on a treadmill!

[AmericanFolkLegend]

but it is not necessarily under ranked per it's graduate programs.

No misconceptions from me. I had assumed we were talking about undergrad because you mentioned "Finals Week" which I (right or wrong) associate with my undergrad experience.

[TomOfBoston]

This is the article in BUToday from April when the East Campus Student Center was announced:
http://www.bu.edu/today/node/10918
Look at the Comments: a veritable bitchfest of complainers. BU students are the school's worst enemy.

[bdurden]

Tonight the BU Task Force approved an extension of the university master plan and the East Campus Student Services Center. On to the BRA.

[palindrome]

Originally Posted by bdurden

Tonight the BU Task Force approved an extension of the university master plan and the East Campus Student Services Center. On to the BRA.

BRA approved. Construction to begin q2 2011.