The following content is purely satirical. Don’t believe everything you read.
As a sophomore at Villanova, I’ve experienced quite a bit of campus life, while still enjoying the novelty of Lancaster Ave. It took time to adjust to campus freshman year, whether it was printing, picking up mail or grabbing my textbooks from Garey. I felt a sense of relief when I finally began to understand how things worked. It’s been so refreshing to return for sophomore year and realize that, thanks to all the changes made over the summer, I once again have no idea how anything works. Consistency and routine are overrated, anyway.
Textbook Access
Last year, I signed up for the textbook access program for the first time. I visited Garey Hall room 10A and waited in line to receive my physical books and course materials. Once at the front of the line, things were simple. All I had to do was scan my Wildcard and the bookstore staff brought my books out. This year as I walked back into 10A, proudly pulling out my Wildcard and expecting the same process, I was of course not at all embarrassed when they informed me that, actually, I should have had a barcode from an email, as they now had an entirely new system.
The best part of this new system is that, with the bookstore switch, books and materials are now incredibly backed up, ensuring no one actually had their supplies when classes began. And of course, my absolute favorite feature is when I finally did pick them up and they announced my name across a room full of people when my order was ready.
Dining
In theory, the Connelly Center now including a Wawa sounds like a dream. And while the food and drink options are delicious and endless, this is a part of the problem. With too many options, only a month into the semester I am left “point-less” and broke. The new spot does not accept meals or MPEs, but rather only “meal points,” which students are allotted a fixed amount of each semester. So, it’s actually great that they replaced Belle Aire Terrace, because no one misses the expansive salad bar, General Tso’s Tuesdays and Smoothitas, all of which could have been bought using a meal.
Technology Changes
Once I register for classes, obviously my favorite thing to do is log into MyNova and see which of my peers are in my classes for the semester. However, when I went to check this feature out during the add/drop period this semester, I realized this system had completely changed, as well. Another wonderful technological has been how the NovaSafe app, once a lifeline for Communication majors living on South Campus or Main Campus and rushing to West Campus, has now removed the shuttle stop times entirely. Now, I almost put in as much effort searching for the inaccurate times on the website as I would just simply walking to class.
Change is common on a college campus, and Villanova, being a nationally-ranked university, simply likes to give students a lot of change to deal with all at once.
