Ripon College Days

Let us look around this week, dear readers, and take some time to give thanks, in accordance with the current holiday season, for all we have in our lives! After all, is this not what Thanksgiving is all about? You bet your britches it is, and that's exactly what we're going to do: give thanks!

Now, I mean some serious thankage is going to be going down here, hardcore. So, if you don't think you can handle it, back out now faithful follower. I'm not talking about just giving thanks because we recently solved our possible housing issue for incoming freshmen by setting up shacks outside the Union (oh wait, no, that was for hunger and homelessness week...) or giving thanks that the weather around here has been so nice either (since we can't agree on who is causing global warming it would be hard to find the proper recipient). I mean, legitimate, heartfelt big-time THANKS!

I want to start out by first and foremost thanking our professors. These modern day saints put up with a lot from us, ladies and gentlemen. They hear our excuses (My printer deinstalled itself; Comm Plus was on fire; my roommate ate my homework), they entertain phone calls at their place of private residence at inane hours (Hey prof, I apologize, but I was trying to read this thing, and it's just too whack for me to understand, and, oh is that your kid in the background, well they can wait), and they even bring us treats (cookies, brownies, pot roasts). And they do it all out of the goodness of their own hearts and desire to educate new generations, certainly not financial gain (Got endowment?). Our professors attend our athletic events, support the fine arts, instill the liberal arts thought process within each of us, and attend the same movies we do in the big city (ok, Oshkosh, give me an inch here). So, THANKS to these true Ripon treasures!

Next up, I want to thank our food service. These poor folks sometimes get a bad rap around here and I don't think that is fair. We consistently receive a variety of food every day, and always with a smile. Sure, we don't have chicken nugget days as much as we used to under the old regime, but at least we can identify 89% of our food now. I remember the days when Perpetual Taco Bar and Pasta Justin the Way You Like It were the only options unless you were on the cereal diet. Now we get all kinds of classy options and we should be thankful. Heck, even the Terrace has seen a better facelift than Cher could ever hope for! So, I extend a big THANKS to Sarjit and his wonderful Sodexho staff. (Now, can we pleeease have chicken nuggets soon?)

This brings us to our next thankful stop, our administration. These wonderful people keep our school running daily. The location of their offices may change daily, but this doesn't daunt these intrepid souls. From giving us leads into prominent alumni (Loved that free CD I got, Al) to setting up financial aid packages for us (does anyone really know what a FAFSA is?) to procuring money to keep us going (the young man in the annual fund brochures is quite handsome, if I do say so myself...) our administration definitely keeps us moving upwards and onwards, and thus garner our THANKS.

Finally, we need to all thank each other. We keep each other's spirits up, swipe for each other in the Commons and break up potentially unfortunate hook-ups at lounge parties (sometimes). Sure, we might also annoy each other, get on our roommates' nerves, and steal each other's significant others, but we always maintain that respectable level of Ripon familiarity. And for that community sense, we each deserve our THANKS.

So, be thankful this week, everybody, for all that we have been given. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go get in line for lunch, it's gonna be a nugget day, I can feel it.

Article Tools