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Indiana (the town) has a love-hate relationship with IUP. Businesses with a high percentage of students as customers deflate into husks during the summer and swell during the spring and fall terms (I drove a taxi here for a while, and believe me when I say it's a night and day difference.) Many businesses cater to students, who represent a large chunk of spending ability in this town. On the hate side, there's an ongoing zoning war in regards to student housing-- Much of the student housing in the boro is transformed from what was initially single-family dwellings, and many of them look pretty shabby. It's next to impossible now to convert a house in a residential district into student housing, but the residences grandfathered in are a sore point for the residents. (On my block we have one, and the smell of pot often drifts this way when the wind is blowing in the right direction.) On the student side of things, the entire central part of the boro is pretty much considered 'residential', now, with the exception of frat row and some of the other huddled buildings near campus.. So anything new (and therefore not trashed) is away from the main part of campus. Much of the student population lives increasingly in apartment complexes now-- Closest to campus are the Lazor brothers buildings, and up Oakland avenue a little ways is Carriage House and Essex House (Carriage house is considered one of the 'drug centers' of the area.) If you don't mind the noise from neighbors, Copper Beech is a really popular place to stay.. For quieter fare, try Spring Meadows, Westgate, and Hampton Court. IUP's last president (Lawrence Pettit) received a vote of no-confidence from the faculty-- Frankly (and personally speaking) I think Atwater is really doing a lot to make IUP a respectable university again. Still, The Penn (student newspaper) is awash every issue with DUIs, disorderlies, and underaged drinking reports. The team used to be called Indians, by virtue of being in a town called Indiana. A few years back it was renamed to the Crimson Hawks. Why people didn't google it first, I'll never know-- Crimson Hawks is the name of an adult comic, although they were kind enough to change their name. (The Gazette article about this is at http://www.indianagazette.com/index.php?Itemid=39&id=2095&option=com_content&task=view ) What part of IUP you go to makes a big difference. The business college, Eberly, is flat-out gorgeous for a college of this size. The computer labs are top notch, many interesting lecturers come to speak there, receptions with white table cloths and fancy food from the culinary students are served. In wood-trimmed cases, piles of Wall Street Journals are there for the free reading pleasure of anyone promenading the smart, tidy halls of the building. If you're in the college of humanities and social sciences like me, well, I hope you like dixie cups. Keith hall (once the Keith School) is one of the oldest buildings on campus-- It's lovely in another way, with huge windows and 1900-something architecture. The only problem is, the paint on those windows outside is peeling, and has been since I started here at IUP. I want to know why, if Eberly gets wood-grain newspapers and housing gets the Suites, IUP cannot scrape the peeling paint off and re-paint some damned windows on one building. In the next few years IUP is planning on deciding whether to rennovate Keith or tear it down. I think I'd be devastated to see it go and be replaced with something modern that'll fall apart in a decade, but at the same time I seethe every time I look at those windows, which are an outward symbol of the esteem (or lack therof) that IUP's administration looks at the history department with. Business is where the money is, I can't deny that.
Anonymous Freshman
Apart from all of the construction that is going on at IUP right now, I believe we have one of the best campuses around. It's easy to navigate and the Oak Grove is a quiet place to spend some time hanging out or studying. It may be a little bigger than some people like, but for me, it's perfect. If I could change anything right now, it'd be the construction. There's a little too much, but most of it should be over soon. IUP is in Indiana, PA and it is a college town. I, however, do not think this is bad. There are many small restaurants of different ethnicities on Philly Street as well as many other places to visit. When I tell people I go to IUP, they sometimes end up laughing at me. I was salutatorian in high school, and people thought that I was "too smart" to go to IUP. I just tell them that the stereotypes that they hear about it aren't always right, and that I really enjoy being a part of the music department. The biggest recent controversy on campus was probably chaning the school mascot to the Crimson Hawks. A lot of alumni were not very happy about this, but the current students have seemed to embraced it because there are new tshirts and sweatshirts and other clothing all around campus.
Dave Junior
The best thing about IUP would be the various extracurricular activities available to students, in which personally has made my college experience so much more worth wild. One thing that I would change is the diversity issue. I feel that in the three years that I have already spent as an IUP student there is still polarization between the international students and the American students. For me, coming from an international background it bugs me to see this. I wish there was more activities that would incorporate both the international community and the U.S. community. School size, I feel is just right for me. Reactions about IUP are all pretty positive. I usually do not spend most of my time in just one spot on campus. Reasons being, I'm involved in numerous extracurricular activities & have a double major. Yes, IUP is located in a college town known as Indiana which is in PA. IUP's administration is a funny subject. Let me say, as a spanish major, I am very disappointed with the lack of funding to the language depts. In addition, I am very disappointed with the spanish program in general. Also, I've noticed lately our administration has been putting lots of money into building new dorms to expand the size of our campus, but the building where both the history and political science depts are located has been long overdue for some major remodeling or rebuilding and that has not occured yet. There's other issues as well but I much rather not go into. Biggest controversy on campus was with the main graduation ceremony.However, I am not sure of all the details. One thing for sure, there is a lot of school pride amongst everyone. Nothing unusual about IUP that I know of. The experience I will always remember was studying abroad in Mexico for my spanish major. That was one of the best!! IUP made that avaiable for me. The most frequent student complaints are the cafeteria food, prices of the food at the hub, and the long lines for food.
Samantha Senior
The best thing about IUP is the social scene. I would change the emphasis on sports- IUP is weak in school spirit. IUP could be bigger. People usually dont know what IUP is, or they think its a branch of IU. I spend most of my time on campus in Ackerman Hall, the Interior Design building. Decent college town, good bars and restaurants. IUP's administration is great! I work hand in hand with many of them being the president of the Panhellenic Association. NO school pride= boring. IUP is unusual in itself- its a small town feel with a lot of students. You typically recognize faces yet there are nearly 14,000 students. One experience I will never forget will be rushing Alpha Gamma Delta... going Greek has made me love IUP. Complaints usually are that the weather sucks, which it does.. it rains a LOT.
Jessi Senior
The best thing about IUP is probably the way the campus looks during the autumn and spring seasons. The Oak Grove, which is the center of the campus, is so inviting when the weather is warm. The colorful leaves of the trees hang over and fall on the students as they walk by, and when the weather is warm enough, friends will sometimes gather in the Oak Grove to spend time with each other. Some will throw frisbee with one another, and some, surprising as this may sound, will act out World of War Craft and various other activites of the sort. Everyone is just happy when it's warm and spending time together in the Oak Grove. Anything unusual about IUP? Yes, there's an abundance of squirrels roaming around. Every now and then while walking through the Oak Grove, an acorn will fall on your head. I like to believe the squirrels throw them at us, but we all know it's just them rustling through the trees......right? For me, the size of IUP is just right. It's not too small, but it's not overbearing either. You can get from point A to point B by walking, some walks may be longer than others, and several housing options are generally located pretty close to campus. It's first come first serve, though, so you have to sign for a place quick if you want the best options. When I tell people I go to IUP, most automatically think about the stereotype of it being a party school. Some adults seem impressed and happy to hear of another student enrolled in college. (It's when I tell them what my major is that their faces look almost confused because most people don't know how many options there really are for a journalism major.) Other adults don't seem phased because IUP is not a really prominent school like Yale or Harvard. But I think it depends on your attitude about where you are attending. If you apply yourself and work hard, you can get just as good an education as a Yale student. Several success students come from IUP. I try to spend as much time on campus and in the library as I can these days. I am a fifteen minute walk from campus from my apartment, and with all the breaks in between my classes, it is a pain to walk back and forth all the time in the dead cold winter, not to mention the walk is usually always icy during these months. I will either go to the library in between classes to do homework, or I will run other errands if I need to. During the week and weekends on my free time, I will go to some friends' houses or to my boyfriend's place to relax and hang out. Other than that, I am in my apartment, hanging out with my roommate and realizing that I will not get work done unless I go to the library. Thus, my nights during the weekdays also usually end up at the library. I believe IUP is what is keeping Indiana alive. There are several small businesses located around this area, but many of them do so well because of the college students. For example, Sheetz, the bars and a local food favorite of the students, Pita Pit (a pita and gyro place) would not be as successful if it were not for the college students, especially the bars. This college pretty much makes the town what it is. I think everyone is always going to have something they'd change about their school. I think I would improve the main food diner, which is like a buffet where everything is on your meal plan, and the types of food you can get at the other diner options on meal plan. They do not give you many options and you end up having to pull out some cash in order to pay for the rest of your meal. Also, I'd change some of the registration's building policies. Sometimes the desk workers "helping" the student is not so friendly and only adds on to your stress. Other times they tell you you are in the wrong building, and when you end up going to the building they directed you to, those desk workers also tell you you are in the wrong building. It's just a crazy mess of confusion, and they need to get their information straight. The last biggest controversy we had on campus was deciding whether or not the campus police should be allowed to carry guns. So many articles were covered on that, and I completely understand and agree with the concerns. Another controversy that is continually rising under the surface of frustrated parents and college students not as financially stable as others are the new dorms they are building. IUP has been trying to expand its campus by improving the buildings and updating the dorms. While this is all nice and dandy, the new dorms cost about $2,000 a semester per student, and that is not even for the suites. A four person non-sweet is around $3,000 or so a semester. It is just ridiculous, and I'm just glad I'm not a freshman. But that doesn't mean I shouldn't care simply because I'm over halfway to graduating. I think school pride exists on campus, but I believe it could be improved. I am not one to talk because I do not attend any sports events, although I think about doing so all the time. I just never seem to have time, and I never know when the events are taking place; I'm sure this is a problem with other students as well. One experience I'll always remember is attending an event at IUP's Hadley Union Building where William Hung played, and they had bouncy boxing and blow-up twister available for people to particpate in. Some food was available, like popcorn and cotton candy, and games were also played like putting a condom on a cu***ber while having "beer goggles" on.
Jenn Junior
IUP is the perfect size. It's just large enough to enable shy people to blend into the woodwork if thatÕs what they really want to doÉand just small and personable enough to encourage those same shy people to step up and become involved. There are a lot of negative feelings toward IUP President Tony Atwater. Recently, he has considered doing away with departmental graduation ceremonies and combining them all in a huge ceremony to take place in the stadiumÉa huge ceremony that would include all graduates, taking approximately 4 Ð 6 hours. There isnÕt a lot of school pride at IUP. Students donÕt often frequent sporting events unless they have friends on the teams. But a lot of people had a lot of opinions about the recent adaptation of IUPÕs new mascot, the Crimson Hawk. Many IUP students and faculty members experience problems locating and financing parking spaces throughout the semester because of the inadequacy of parking lots and facilities and the high costs of permits. That is the most common complaint.
Anonymous Junior
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