Valparaiso University

Date: Jul 30 2004
Major: Communications (This Major's Salary over time)
I love Valpo. The city is growing very rapidly just since I've been here—We now have a Barnes & Noble, a real Starbucks (not sure of the hours there), a 24-hour Steak 'n Shake, which is great for late-night studying or just to get away with friends. We have a Target, Pier 1, Panera Bread, Payless Shoe Source, Kohl's, Claire's Boutique, Pizza Hut, Buffalo Wild Wings, Subway, Jimmy John's, and a great pizzeria called Greek's. And, mind you, all of the above are within walking distance, unless you are handicapped or just plain lazy. I understand that the Valpo movie theater is a 45-minute walk away, but if you or someone you know has a car, it's about a five-minute drive. Right by the theater is a Fazoli's, a Schoop's burger joint, etc. Merrillville, which is about twenty-five minutes west on I-30, has just about everything you could imagine. Westfield Mall is more than satisfactory, three movie theaters (one is an AMC and another is a Loew's), Olive Garden, Uno's, Best Buy, Value City Furniture and Department Store, Old Navy, etc. As far as the actual university goes, I'll admit that extracurriculars are somewhat restricted to those who participate in Greek societies, of which we have more than a few. However, the Union Board shows two or three movies a year that are still in theaters (they are shown in Great Hall in the Union and are free of charge); 2003-2004 we had "Pirates of the Caribbean," "Love Actually," and "Along Came Polly." And I don't remember which year it was, but "Bowling for Columbine" was also shown in the Neils Science Center. Our new library, the Christopher Center for Information Resources, will be open in September 2004 for new students, and it looks fabulous. Admittedly, though, dormitories leave a little something to be desired, especially since the money has been going towards the CLIR when what we desperately need is a new dorm with the rate of growth in admissions. Several rooms in the nicer dorms that were obviously built for two people are being turned into triples, the lounges in the older dorms are being converted back to rooms for students (so they don't have lounges over there, which means no microwave, no oven, no normal refrigerator unless you go to the first floor). I sincerely hope that a new, big dorm is their next endeavor, because if they build enough new dorms we can start tearing down some of the WAY out-of-date ones, such as Scheele (all-girl dorm, mostly inhabited by sororities), Lankenau, Alumni, and Brandt. (Lank and Alumni are freshmen dorms, and freshmen are also housed in Brandt, but Brandt is mostly upperclassmen guys.) For communication majors, we have an outstanding radio station, WVUR The Source, which is student-run. It is my understanding that our science department is fantastic, we have an outstanding nursing department, the history department is spectacular, and it is my personal opinion that the communications department, while having its drawbacks like anything does, is overall pretty amazing. Schnabel, the communications and geography/meteorology building, is being expanded, and the additional parts of the building should be open for business this September also. Apparently the meteorology department will have state-of-the-art equipment, and communications will have more room for its expanding technologies. Dr. Kocher, the chair of the communications department, is very helpful, very accessible, and overall a great person. Professors Bloom and Seguin of the history department, both of whom I have had classes with, are hilarious and fantastic and interesting. The food on campus is good, but there isn't a whole lot of variety. However, the CLIR will have a coffeehouse/caf, which is being hyped up as being really cool, so I'm excited to try that out. Valpo basketball, both women's AND men's, is exciting, and I would recommend to ANYONE to attend their games. Students get in for free with their student ID. Football games are also exciting. I have never been to a baseball or soccer game, but I have friends who have, and they say that those sports are invigorating too. So overall, in closing, I would recommend Valparaiso University to anyone, anywhere—I have a friend who came from England for an exchange semester and loved it, and I came all the way from Houston, Texas, and wouldn't have it any other way. Go Crusaders!