Top Five Annoyances When Attending a Pretty College

By: Alaina Gizzo
Posted In: Opinion

Almost every Salve student admits at one time or another that at least one reason for choosing Salve had to do with the aesthetic qualities of Newport, the impressive history of some its buildings or the convenient location on the shore. However, some issues tend to arise with the very same motives for which students originally came to Salve for.

Number One: Curious, lost and inquiring tourists.

Every Salve student has experienced the out-of-towner inquisition. It comes in many forms, while some tourists will simply and politely ask where the Breakers is, others insist on reaping the benefits of everything you can possibly know about Newport and Salve. One tourist in fact stopped me en route to class and began inquiring about how many students go to Salve, what programs we are known for, how our sports teams are, what my major is, how high my GPA is, what I plan to do in the future and how much tuition is among other inquiries. When you encounter this type of tourist, you know it is officially spring time.

Number Two: Rude tourists.

Sometimes if you do not properly deal with the curious tourist, it can turn ugly. Note that when most tourists inquire about a Salve building, they do not only wish to know the name, but every possible function of the edifice. One time when explaining the name and history of Carey Mansion to a typical curious tourist, I accidentally left out that it was a dormitory in one part, while the other half housed the music department. In an annoyed and unappreciative tone, she claimed that she already knew all of the information I told her, but needed to know the building’s function. Perhaps carrying around a sheet of Salve building FAQs would be more helpful next time.

Number Three: Unfortunately frequent encounters with facilities due to the historic nature of most dorms.

The majority of Salve upperclassman dorms are beautiful historic buildings dating back to the 1800s or early 1900s. Despite the aesthetic qualities of historic buildings, they can potentially have heating or plumbing problems. Better yet, if you manage to have original window frames or doors in your historic dorm a slew of issues

can manifest that way. As a result, facilities will frequent your building in order to repair the various problems. Although facilities is typically very speedy and efficient, it is a bit of a pain to explain what went wrong this time on the FIXX-IT report.

Number Four: Proximity to the Cliff Walk as a major distraction from one’s studies.

Anyone who has ever had a class in McAuley on a beautiful day knows the distraction of the Cliff Walk. When you see perfect waves and the bright sun rays, it is impossible to concentrate on anything other than wanting to be at the beach with your friends. Also upon being dismissed from class, it is highly likely that you will in fact walk along the Cliff Walk or go to the beach instead of spending a worthy amount of time writing that five page essay due tomorrow.

Number Five: A less than fulfilling amount of activities in the winter.

Other than college night at the ice skating rink, the list of winter activities in Newport runs a little short. Stores and restaurants can have altered winter hours due to the lack of business in the off season, which isn’t nearly as pretty as tourist season. Meanwhile, unpredictable Newport weather can often leave Newporters under house arrest. Essentially without warm weather, activities in Newport can easily fall flat.

Although these things can be frustrating and annoying, nothing compares to the beautiful aesthetics we are surrounded with in Newport and on campus. I mean, who else can boast that across the street from one’s dorm is The Breakers or that one can walk down Bellevue Avenue and be surrounded by numerous gorgeous buildings- only in Newport.