As you may have noticed, this paper is brimming with goodbye columns. Most of which are probably a bit sentimental or sappy, and justifiably so. I, however, will do my best to not get too weepy on you.
No promises.
My years at UB have been great. I made some life-long friends, got a degree, some semblance of a direction in life, and some outrageous stories to boot. But that's not to say I don't have any qualms about my stay here.
Let's just put it out there, student apathy plagues this school. In fact, I'm convinced maybe five of the people who pick up this issue will read this column. I can't say I blame you for not reading this in particular. The only reason I read any of the goodbye columns is because I know the people writing them. (Well, that, and it's kind of my job.) But not reading my opinion columns isn't where my problem with your lack of caring comes from.
The majority of you don't seem to care about, well, anything. We've reported on a lot of big stories this year involving contributions from UB to a political campaign, the financial aid crisis, and the Sikander Khan debacle. But what do you get the most riled up about? Tattoos. Way to make our generation look good.
It's more than that, though. Our sports teams deserve attention and you give them far too little. I can say with confidence that I attended more football games than the vast majority of people on this campus. Since freshman year I've tried to make it to every single football game I could - including a trip to Toronto for the International Bowl.
They're free Division-1 games. Why would anyone claiming to be a football fan not go? Yet, for some reason, the attendance at games has always been atrocious. I'm not going to harp on this much more, but I never understood why. Just get out there and support them. I apologize in advance for all of the fun you'll have.
Still, the good far outweighed the bad over these past few years. For anyone who lived on the third floor of Goodyear Hall in 2007-08, you all ruled. I've always considered myself kind of a shy person, but you pried me out of that shell with hall dodge ball, movie nights, and the eels.
Kassim Kassim, you are still by far the greatest enigma I have come across in my life.
Then there's everyone who ever lived in or came to 233 Highgate Ave. Those were some of the best days of my life. Strangely, even getting robbed at gunpoint there I look back on with fondness. (So if anyone currently living there is reading this, make sure to keep your doors and windows locked.)
As for everyone I've met through The Spectrum, it's been a headache; a tiresome, frustrating, all-consuming headache that I wouldn't trade for anything. From the days of John, Steve, sweet baby hills, Di Matteo, Adrian, Rachel, Squid and all of the others to this year's editorial board and our advisor Jody Biehl, it's been a blast. You have all helped define my time as a college student and I can't thank you enough for it.
Every one of you that I came across during my stay here helped shape me into who I am today.
Well, I guess I'll wrap this up. It's proving to be a bit difficult to do, though. After all, I've spent the last four years writing for this paper and these will be the last words I ever have printed in it. I won't leave you with some profound self-discovery or a golden nugget of advice. All I'll say is this: so long. It's been fun.
Email: James.Twigg@ubspectrum.com
