Minh Dam/The Daily Cougar
Representatives from 20 organizations, including The Daily Cougar, gathered at the University Center on Wednesday to christen the UC North, which will be dedicated to many of the organizations that provide various services to students.
Before breaking the grape juice, though, a few of the people influential in getting the project this far gave speeches about the importance of the project. Not surprisingly, they all agreed: The New UC is one of the most, if not the most, important construction project at UH.
Obvious biases aside — The Cougar and the Center for Student Media are getting a newsroom in the UC North — I have to agree with them. The UC North is going to be devoted to the kinds of organizations that give students a reason to come to school every day beyond just getting a degree.
Granted, I want to graduate as much as anyone else, and I don’t plan on sticking around any longer than I have to, but when I look back on the past four years, I feel like I’ve done more than just go through a series of lectures and tests that will culminate with a few seconds as I walk across the stage in May.
More than anything else at UH, working at The Cougar has shaped my college experience. It’s given me a feeling of being a part of something bigger than myself. Yes, The Cougar has left me with a vast array of skills I wouldn’t otherwise have, but most importantly, I think, it’s made me feel like I’ve done something important with my time.
That’s why the UC North is so important. Not because it’s going to be better than the University of Texas’ or A&M’s university centers, though it may well be. Not even because it will give students a “home away from home,” as the speakers said Monday. The UC North is important because it gives organizations like The Cougar the chance to reach students, and it gives those students the chance to step beyond the lectures, tests and homework and be a part of something that will make them feel like what they do matters.
— Joshua Mann, Editor in chief
