UMW Begins Year with Improvements

Complaining about the administration is a time-honored tradition at UMW, and the Bullet admittedly loves to participate. But none of us would be here if they really never got anything right, and this semester, UMW has had a particularly good start.

Campus looks as beautiful as ever, and the completion of Lee Hall is a relief for anyone tired of looking at an ugly white fence. Both Lee Hall and the Underground have been well received by students and visitors and give the campus more of a “real” university feel while still utilizing UMW’s traditional architecture style. The construction on

Eagle Village has taken off faster than past construction projects, too.

Last year, President Hample declared that encouraging a more diverse student population was one of her main goals. It looks like she’s already delivered, as there was a notable increase in the freshman class’s racial diversity from last year.

Even in the face of difficult news events, UMW has pulled itself together. After the death of junior Preston Hirsten, the Athletics department came together across teams to commemorate the tragedy. President Hample also did a stellar job of informing the campus and honoring Preston in her e-mails to the university population.

The administration has also improved its communication with the university in other areas. Updates regarding the H1N1 virus have been detailed and regularly e-mailed, keeping campus alerted and, hopefully, a little healthier this flu season. Students want and need those types of updates and efforts to communicate as much as possible, and if administrators can keep up, we’ll probably all be happy even when things are going wrong—often students just want to know when and why things are going wrong in the first place.

Diversity, updated buildings, communication and the ability to use your meals whenever you please—it’s hard to criticize any of that. Give us and the rest of the student body time and we’ll probably manage to find plenty to jump on. But as for now, our hat is off to the administration. Keep it up.