I
am a pretty typical person, though perhaps a little nerdier
than some. I love computer games, movies, and socializing with
my friends. Generally I am not overly picky, though I
do demand at least acceptable quality in the services that
I pay for. Unfortuantely, Liberty has failed to meet any
of my requirements. 1) Entertainment - There is almost nothing
to do here. The campus supplies nothing for leisure. No
cable, poor internet, and very little in the way of
sports.
If you like watching sports, you
will never be able to watch a championship game here.
The only places that get the games are the Student
Lounges, and they close at 11:30. You can always try
to find away around curfew so you can watch the
game in one of the town's sports bars, but don't
tell any Liberty adminstrators, they'll blast you for going to
an establishment that serves alcohol.
Outside of campus
is the pitiful city of Lynchburg. I maybe spoiled, having
spent my whole life in a big city, but Lynchburg
sucks. The weather is absolutely horrible and there is nothing
to do. Even the Liberty supporters that I've met don't
like the locale.
In short, Liberty University is
very dull and miserable as a whole.
2) Campus Services
- The services of Liberty University are about on par
with those in the USSR around the time the Berlin
Wall was torn down. I have never in my life
seen a more poorly run company. Nothing works right. They
build brand new dorms with faulty wiring and flickering lights.
They don't build sidewalks so before your first month is
up you'll find yourself covered in mud.
The
food services are awful. They close early and don't even
open when it's snowing. Even when they are open, the
food is disgusting. Truly disgusting. They cook well during College
for a Weekend, but don't be fooled!! I was and
I'm regretting it now.
3) Network Services - The internet
connection at Liberty is horrible. There are almost always connectivity
problems. There have been several instances in the past semester
in which I, and my entire dorm, have been totally
cut off from the internet for days at a time.
Two of my friends had no connection for over two
weeks. They submitted a request for tech support on day
one, and it took a week and a half before
anyone even looked into their problem even with the pair
calling in for support every single day.
Even when the network is up, the speeds are below
par. I can't begin to tell you the amount of
games I have lost because of lag. Recently, they have
begun to work on the issue and it is improving,
however the means they used to solve the problem are
overly drastic and nearly as annoying as the speed problems
themselves.
First, they installed a traffic shaper which
almost totally restricts all forms of filesharing. That is a
huge problem in a place that provides no cable, and
has terrible tv reception. Downloading tv shows is the only
way for me to enjoy shows like The O.C. or
Lost.
Secondly, they forced everyone to install a
program called CleanAccess that forces you to install certain Windows
Updates and run a particular antivirus. While in principle the
program shouldn't be an issue Liberty's standard of low quality
continues. Every night at midnight the whole system goes down
to update itself...a huge problem if you're in the middle
of an instense game of Counterstrike.
Basically, if
you have any interest in the internet, filesharing or multiplayer
gaming DO NOT COME HERE.
4) Administrator's Attitude - More
frustrating than any of the issues of already stated is
the general unwillingness to do anything about it. Blame-shifting is
king at Liberty University, I can't tell you the hundreds
of times I have been redirected in circles here. The
support personnel blame their bosses, their bosses blame the administrators,
and the administrators blame the support personnel. No one will
actually do anything though!
As a customer
I expect the attitude of a company that serves me
to be something along the lines of “You pay $XXX
for a certian product or service and we will do
our best to provide you with what you require, if
we fail you we will do our best to make
it right or we will compensate you.” If I buy
a TV at BestBuy and it flickers I expect them
to replace it. That is not the case at Liberty.
If you tried to return your tv here they would
tell you to fly to Asia and give it to
Samsung, upon further complaint they would not apologize they would
tell you that maybe God is trying to teach you
patience and that you should pray. But you would never
get a new TV.
In summation, do not come here.
If you expect any sort of quality in your college
experience you will find yourself frustrated. Life is miserable here
for anyone who actually pays their own bills. You will
not get what you pay for no matter who you
appeal to. Unless you hae a lot more patience than
I do to deal with the sort of runaround that
would make any inurance agency proud, do not come here.
And on another note, the girls here are not nearly
as pretty as everyone says; and for you girls, with
a few exceptions the guys here are total pansies...unless
you want to do the asking out you'll be dateless
for a long time.
Liberty has a monopoly on it's
industry...it's the only lenient christian school I know, but for
your own sanity I would advise against coming here.