Ian Cramer

To the Alfred University Student Body,

On Saturday at the Alfie Awards, the Saxon Bike Hub received an Alfie for the Best New Organization on campus. I gratefully accepted this award and I would like to thank the students who voted and those of you who have used the Bike Hub. But, in my haste to accept the award and exit the stage, I failed to mention and thank key players having to do with the success of the Saxon Bike Hub.

From the moment we step on campus, we are enveloped by requests for our involvement in clubs, organizations, sports teams and other groups. This is especially true of small campuses like ours. Many of us answer the call and become involved in our respective areas of interest. Some of us choose to be leaders of these groups while others assume a lesser role as followers. Both roles are essential for the survival of the group and like a food chain or any hierarchical structure, a balance must be achieved.

I traveled to Pisgah National Forest in western North Carolina with the Outdoor Club for spring break. Every year the Outdoor Club plans a trip to somewhere south of Alfred in order to experience the outdoors in all its beauty. This is a trip open every year to students with all levels of outdoor camping experience.

My inspiration for this piece stemmed entirely from the reactions of my peers to my last article printed in the Fiat Lux. It was entitled “Small world, even smaller school” and to summarize, it was about immature students who don’t seem to understand that attending college should go hand in hand with maturing. It tackled the question: Is the amount of education one receives inversely proportional to one's maturity level?

We all chose Alfred University for a reason. The beautiful campus (at least in the fall and spring), the academic programs, the reputations of professors, the friendly atmosphere and even athletics may have contributed to your decision. Many students also pick AU because of its size. Going to a smaller school generally means that class sizes are smaller, you get more one-on-one time with your professors, you’re treated as a person rather than a number and the experience isn’t as overwhelming compared to a larger school.

Over Christmas break, I engaged in a very scholarly, yet rare, activity for me: leisure reading. I was given a non-fiction book written by commercial pilot Capt. Chesley Sullenberger called "Highest Duty." Sullenberger landed US Airways flight 1549 in the Hudson River last January without a single casualty and was instantly crowned a national hero. After receiving the book, I immediately began to read and, 5 days later, finished the 321-page novel, giving me inspiration for my first resolution: to do more leisure reading.

Recently, President Charles Edmondson and Vice President for Student Affairs Kathy Woughter gave WALF approval to replace the wiring and old equipment in the station.
According to station manager Tom Fleming the main problem with the wiring, other than being old, is the fact that exposed wires cause “an audible hum when listening to WALF.”
“The wiring is probably about 15 years old [and] is not properly shielded,” said Fleming.

Typically, when a graduating class of students walks the stage, they give the institution something in return as a, “thank you," for everything the University has done for them. This is commonly called a Senior Gift. If you’ve never heard of a senior gift, that’s probably not your fault because the last time a senior gift was given was in 2003. I have a problem with this.
Giving a senior gift is a good idea for many reasons:

Has anyone noticed that the internet on campus seems a little sluggish? I have personally found that Youtube, iTunes and other popular sites seem to be loading much slower than normal. So, instead of joining a meaningless Facebook group entitled "AU needs faster internet" (yes, it’s a real group), I decided to seek out factual information and find out why the internet seems to be slower than normal.
I had the opportunity to speak with Adrian Morling, the manager for network services here at AU. He explained to me that the reason the internet is slow is, in part, our fault.

“New facilities for teachers and students? nahh, lets buy a 7 person bike…”

This statement is a direct quote from a student on campus and I’m confident that many members of the student body share similar sentiments. If you’ve heard similar proclamations or you yourself share this attitude, I suggest you read the Conference Bike opinion piece above and the Oct. 19 front-page Fiat Lux article titled "Fourteen pedals, one new tour" (please note that this article does mistakenly list the bike price at $87,000 and not $8,700).