It seems that everyone did their part to participate in ETSU Pride Week, and the D.P. Culp University Center computer lab was no exception.
The designers of the new lab layout did their part by trying to bring students closer together than ever before.
You might ask what sort of creative flash of brilliance sparked this new idea. I don’t know, and I don’t think the creators do either.
The idea: Eliminate desk space.
When I first heard that the lab would be remodeled, I rejoiced along with many students. This meant that the Culp Center lab would be getting better computers.
Throughout the entire summer, I engaged other students in conversation about the new lab, and each student always told me how much he or she was looking forward to the new renovations.
When the fall semester began, I noticed that the Culp lab was overflowing with students, or was it?
Actually, the desks were so small that students were forced to practically sit on top of one another and the computer hardware took up every inch of the desks creating an illusion that the lab was crowded. (The football team is trying to adopt this strategy for game attendance.)
Apparently, there is absolutely no need for anything on a desk other than a computer, a mouse and a keyboard.
What I love most about this new arrangement is that I have to reach over the keyboard to move the mouse, steadily keeping my arm at a 90-degree angle so that I don’t accidentally brush the arrow keys with my arm, highlighting one of those ridiculous spam e-mails and ordering a generic type of Viagra. (The saddest thing about the previous statement is that “Viagra” did not pop up on spell check.)
Inversely, the reality of the situation is that the lack of space means no room for books, magazines, pens, notepads, and more importantly, hands. So much for doing papers and homework in computer labs.
For a minute, I thought I was still at a university.
There is also the whole privacy issue. The guy next to me just said this is the most ridiculous thing he has ever read.
What I do on my workstation, not to be confused with SPACEstation, is my own business.
Now, to the wrong person, this piece might come across as belligerent complaining, and it was not I who wrote the “wasteful consumer-driven lives” editorial last year.
But I do believe I have legitimate reason to voice my concern.
Here it is: the small sum of money designated as the “Technology Access Fee” on each student’s account summary.
We actually pay for it. I know the student body could not make that claim for much else, but at least when we mention we would like to see changes in the computer lab, we really do finance it.
My other reason for highlighting this situation is best expressed in the words of the great English philosopher Edmund Burke, “All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.