During the last legislative session, the Texas legislature cut higher education student financial aid by 15 percent, and according to the Austin-American Statesman, voted on funding cuts totaling more than a billion dollars.
Bearing this in mind, and with the knowledge that all state universities must tighten their belts, it is interesting to note the eight large screen televisions placed in Farish Hall that serve no visible purpose other than advertising.
These screens resemble pedestrian versions of the highway information signs designating travel times to the interstate, Amber Alerts, hurricane evacuation routes and the vehicle descriptions of forgetful elderly people that get on the freeway and don’t exit until the interstate ends in Canada or Mexico.
Since none of these would appear to be happening in or near Farish Hall, it occurred to me that these screens might be needed as directional markers for the hordes of students in the College of Education, but the building is relatively small by UH standards and the fact that it is circular would rule that out too. Well, at least it is expected that these future educators can navigate a circle.
Another purpose of these mystery screens dawned on me when I remembered covering the Faculty Senate meetings in Farish Hall. A brief vision of tottering tenured faculty heading to the library or for research and becoming lost in Farish Hall doomed to wander for eternity in a circle crossed my mind.
Then I remembered that tenured faculty are some of the few that actually still have a confirmed spot on campus to park — they would drive to the library.
Maybe the screens themselves could provide the answer. After watching several random messages appear extolling, in true Orwellian fashion, the virtues of technology, the pride to be gained from attending UH and the College of Education and not to forget Cougar Red Fridays, a command to “like” the school on its Facebook page finally appeared. And so the enigma of these screens finally unraveled.
These screens must be part of the University’s Tier One Efforts. Any non-UH faculty or administrator we take through our school of education could not hesitate to be impressed with our progressive use of technology and impressive screens.
However, hanging multiple enormous flat screens projecting messages to “like” the school on Facebook is not only a waste of money, but also an enormous waste of electricity.
As UH continues to grow in both population and reputation, proper and responsible infrastructure implementation is critical to sustaining the growth.
At a time of severe economic and budgetary crisis at the national, state, and, most critically, the household level, there should be procedural oversight of such expenditures.
Installing random pieces of high-tech bling should remain at the discretion of each college, but it should be done with the needs of the larger University in mind.
These purchases should also be reviewed outside the college and compared to the needs of the other areas of our campus.
As much as the efforts for Tier One are to be applauded, it should be remembered that wasteful, extravagant and superficial efforts like these are more likely to be effective if the viewer doesn’t have to park at another university campus or can actually find toilet paper if they choose to use the restroom while on campus.
Stop by Farish hall and check out the screens. Maybe they will start providing useful information — then at least they will serve a purpose.
Jeb Schneider is a print journalism senior and may be reached at [email protected].
Speaking as a College of Education major, Jeb Schneider is an idiot who was looking for someone to attack. If the "Daily Cougar" had done a bare minimum of research into his so-called column they would have realized that this flaming jerk is peddling nothing but lies and distortions.
The signs ("TVs") we have in Farish Hall have been up for YEARS. They serve a purpose: to inform COLLEGE OF EDUCATION MAJORS of important events.
They provide a concise rotation of the following things:
– Important dates for the semester (enrollment dates, drop dates, application dates).
– Important dates for programs required for graduation, such as the QUEST program.
– Important speakers and events for students to attend.
– Other news on our faculty and college programs.
And yes, Mr. Schneider, they HAVE been used to provide day-to-day updates on weather conditions such as approaching hurricanes in the Gulf during hurricane season.
Maybe the Daily Cougar should get some new columnists. We don't need his help finding toilet paper when we head to the bathroom. All we need is a copy of Jeb "I'm a stuck up asshole trying to tear down another college" Schneider's column.
The Daily Cougar really ought to start vetting their opinion columnists better. Jeb Schneider's column has no basis in reality. If he had done even the slightest research he would realize that the TVs have been in Farish Hall for longer than I've been here – and I'm a senior. He would have found out that they are used for news related to College of Education business, important notifications for College of Education majors, information on class schedules and deadlines for classes, applications, and the important meetings for the QUEST (Quality Urban Education for Students and Teachers) program, a mandatory program for teaching track majors which involves student teaching experience in the field.
As a brain dead journalism major whose duties after graduation will consist mostly of asking "do you want fries with that" and plagiarizing the work of others, this may not mean much to Jeb. He obviously has little to no business being in our building during the daytime. For students in our college programs, on the other hand, the TVs are a lifeline and a helpful reminder.
For the university business notifications like "Cougar Red Fridays" and the facebook stuff, I've seen them pasted all over the campus, not just in our building. At the same time I like the fact that in OUR building, they are part of the rotation on the TVs instead of being another ugly printout stuffed onto a bunch of crappy looking pinboards or littering the floor from being pulled down.
I wouldn't expect to find Journalism college business on our announcement TVs, just as I wouldn't expect to find our business over in areas that are mostly trafficked by Journalism burger-flippers. I really wish a know-nothing idiot like Jeb Schneider would find better things to do with his time than bitching and moaning that our building looks better than the crappy looking Valenti school area – like maybe doing the JOB he was assigned to do and reporting on the Faculty Senate meeting instead!
Daily Cougar, feel free to publish this to the paper, if you aren't a bunch of cowards.
Looking at his only two columns, it seems that Jeb Schneider's only purpose for "joining" the staff of the Daily Cougar is to nurse a grudge against IT services here at UH. He certainly doesn't have any columns on "covering the Faculty Senate meetings" that are currently available in the Daily Cougar archives (https://thedailycougar.com/author/jeb-schneider/).
So I have thought overnight about what would drive such a buffoon to write for the Daily Cougar, or that matter to become a Print Journalism major.
Could he join us in Bauer College of Business, where we have signage and screens similar to those in Farish Hall? Probably not. Journalism majors are generally too stupid to pass the tests necessary for entrance into our highly competitive major. Could he become a teacher? Again, most likely not. Journalism majors are too undisciplined and ADD to manage to sit through the classes and numerous tests required to become certified as a teacher, and Jeb Schneier's writing level indicates a startling lack of command of critical thinking skills as well. It has long been known that Journalism and Communications majors are generally considered "fake majors" and "easy majors' to be populated by the student athletes and others who lack the brainpower to make it in real majors, and Jeb Schneider appears to be proving this point quite well.
But then the thought occurred to me: if he is intent on entering a dying field, e.g. "Print Journalism", Jeb Schneider will need some form of a portfolio of some kind. He'll need a list of articles with his name on them, to submit to prospective employers willing to allow him to sit around plagiarizing stories from the AP wire for some local paper somewhere that nobody reads. And what better way to accomplish this than to subject his fellow students to his insane, unfounded ravings by way of the Daily Cougar?
Jeb Schneider, we have seen through you. I suggest you exit gracefully into the sunset and stop besmirching our fair campus with your presence.
Looking at his only two columns, it seems that Jeb Schneider's only purpose for "joining" the staff of the Daily Cougar is to nurse a grudge against IT services here at UH. He certainly doesn't have any columns on "covering the Faculty Senate meetings" that are currently available in the Daily Cougar archives (https://thedailycougar.com/author/jeb-schneider/).
So I have thought overnight about what would drive such a buffoon to write for the Daily Cougar, or that matter to become a Print Journalism major.
Could he join us in Bauer College of Business, where we have signage and screens similar to those in Farish Hall? Probably not. Journalism majors are generally too stupid to pass the tests necessary for entrance into our highly competitive major. Could he become a teacher? Again, most likely not. Journalism majors are too undisciplined and ADD to manage to sit through the classes and numerous tests required to become certified as a teacher, and Jeb Schneier's writing level indicates a startling lack of command of critical thinking skills as well. It has long been known that Journalism and Communications majors are generally considered "fake majors" and "easy majors' to be populated by the student athletes and others who lack the brainpower to make it in real majors, and Jeb Schneider appears to be proving this point quite well.
But then the thought occurred to me: if he is intent on entering a dying field, e.g. "Print Journalism", Jeb Schneider will need some form of a portfolio of some kind. He'll need a list of articles with his name on them, to submit to prospective employers willing to allow him to sit around plagiarizing stories from the AP wire for some local paper somewhere that nobody reads. And what better way to accomplish this than to subject his fellow students to his insane, unfounded ravings by way of the Daily Cougar?
Jeb Schneider, we have seen through you. I suggest you exit gracefully into the sunset and stop besmirching our fair campus with your presence.
The above four comments are the same person. Pathetic.