Do you realize that you can’t walk from Leavenworth to Woodruff without hearing some self-absorbed student whine about how much Castleton sucks? You can’t make it from your car to the front doors without hearing them talk about the professor they have who’s just too hard, doesn’t understand where the students are coming from, or doesn’t know what the hell they’re teaching. “He has such an awful teaching style,” is a term that frequently comes to mind.

Welcome to Castleton folks: the small school with the big heart, which according to some students on campus, maintains its iambic beat only to grasp for the wallets of its students and in return give nothing other than aggravation, stress, hard work (with little or no reward) and insensitive teachers.

They say Castleton can’t provide its students with good food, proper parking, or an overall adequate learning environment. It hasn’t anything to offer students and there’s no hope here for those students yearning to make the big bucks, in the big world.

They say Castleton doesn’t have teachers who care, doesn’t have competent public safety officials, a knowledgeable administration, and worst of all. ( and you may want to sit down for this one) it has a bad cooking staff.

What?! You’re telling me the food at the college cafeteria isn’t first class dining?! Campus safety doesn’t have a staff of ex-CIA, Jack Bauer-esque, Navy-SEAL-trained, security guards?

Well hi, this is the real world calling, it’s asking you to come back to earth.

See, guys and gals, you constant Castleton complainers, you distributors of downtime discord, you negative Nancys with no concerns other than “why is all of this happening to me?” listen here because it concerns you; in the words of Eddie Murphy. ya’ll need to have a coke and a smile and shut the f— up.”

Here’s why. We go to school surrounded by faculty and staff that actually give a damn. I know my professors by first name, phone number, and I know that I can rely on them to understand my problems and concerns, as long as I address them in a manner expected of a mature college student. Very few professors (none, as a matter of fact, that I’ve come across in my years here) haven’t given me a chance to state my case, and then unequivocally take a minute to understand and reason with me.

Look, we’ve all got our problems with collegiate life, but if college was supposed to be a cake walk through a fairy park with daffodils and butterflies, what kind of people would we be when we graduated?

Do we really want everything on campus to be perfect? Do we want our every last desire to be catered to? Do we really not want to dig in and try, with everything we’ve got, for something that means so much? Do we not want to fight through the bullshit (and sometimes it is there) with a quiet confidence, and self assurance that we are here on OUR dime, and know that we can make a difference at this school if we think there is one to be made? And do we not want to realize that maybe just maybe. just maybe the problems that we’re focusing on are so trivial, and miniscule that we’re missing the big picture?

Castleton freaking rocks, because we have the freedom to say what we will without consequence from an authoritative administration and because all of our questions and concerns are weighted and thought about. We have people here like Deb Choma, Crispin White, and Dave Wolk, people who go out of their way for us students. Safe ride, anyone?

We’re paid attention to as a student body, by an administration and faculty that knows we’re worth paying attention to. We’re respected by our teachers, but that respect isn’t free. There aren’t free handouts here. CSC doesn’t work that way. You have to earn it. Fight for it.

Call me a brown-noser, call me an idealist, tell me I’m just out for the approval of my professors. Just don’t call me to complain about your teacher not teaching well, or your suite getting busted, because I don’t care.

You make your own choices here, the only person who can make Castleton a great school for you is YOU. The experiences you gain here are in no one’s control but yours. And that’s a fact.

Love it or hate it, just stop bitching about it.