There is not enough space on Campus
This campus has been too small for the undergraduate class since I came to Mines in 2020. The gym is too small and you will spend much more time waiting for machines and weights to free up than actually working out. I live 5 minutes off campus and yet if I don't leave 30+ minutes early I will be late for class because I have to drive across the entire campus looking for a single open parking spot. There are multiple restaurants on campus that have just been closed since my Freshman year with no reasons given causing lines and crowding at other food spots on campus. When trying to do work or study on campus outside of classtime, I struggle to find a quiet place that isn't in use as there are just too many people all looking for the same thing I am, but not enough spaces for us all to find one. All I want is for the administration to recognize that this campus already isn't big enough for the students they have instead of growing the undergraduate class more and more every year. It feels like all they care about is making the school more and more profitable by getting more students to pay tuition every year without hiring more professors or creating more space on campus for all the new students. Overall, the past few years have made me feel like we are ignored on campus and none of our requests or needs are ever listened to.
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Anonymous commented
I've been at this school since 2017, now as a graduate student. This issue has been consistent since at least 2015 because I knew seniors (my freshmen year) that were bothered by this trend.
Over time, I've spoken with many professors about this issue and they concur with the view point the students eventually gather. With every new freshmen class being "The biggest in Mines history" the increase each year has been linear (as shared by a notable professor) and shows the growth is probably planned.
Clearly, it's purposeful or the admissions department is grossly incompetent.During Covid in one of my mandatory in person classes, the professor said he would use zoom daily and we didn't actually have to be in person. He said that the school was making the class be "mandatory in person" to justify charging the typical cost of tuition.
The school has demonstrated for 6+ years they don't care/prioritize the student's experiences in any meaningful action. Especially since it takes a student 2 or 3 years to really recognize it's a trending issue and they're likely graduating soon enough that they, and their 'beef' with the school, will be gone.
You can see this the the " "Meaningful Expansion" Unjustly Taking Precedence over Mental Health, Parking, Housing, & Classroom Sizes" beef posted in April 2019 when organizing all what's your beef posts by top issues (400ish votes).