Now that the euphoria of having seemingly infinite dining dollars has worn off and the convenience of living in a dope hotel in the Grove is in the past, I’ve realized that this University Village deal ain’t all it was hyped up to be.
Granted, we are all moved into our apartments and we now have cable (most of the time), hot water (on a good day), and cabinets, fans and shower rods have (temporarily) stopped falling apart. But what about JPI’s other golden promises of an on-site convenience store, adequate parking, a “student support” computer lab, leasing center and a mail room? Turns out that those aren’t empty promises, per se, but rather, delayed promises-like our initial move-in dates.
Unlike many of our university’s finest, I like to eat. And when 2 a.m. rolls around, and Taco Bell isn’t going to suffice, I would love to stumble my way down the street from my apartment to a University Village convenience store to stock up on goodies rich in trans-fats. But alas, the aforementioned convenience store is nowhere close to completion.
I hate parking garages. It’s almost a mild phobia that goes back to this episode of ABC’s “The Practice” where one of the lawyers gets gunned down in one. But what makes me hate them even more is when I have to drive in circles up one in quest of a parking spot. Not a convenient parking spot, mind you, but just any parking spot. With only one parking garage complete on Albenga, and a meager parking lot that boasts no more than 40 spaces-the rest of which are taken up by construction equipment that, I might point out, is not being used-parking is quite the feat.
One of the only enjoyable amenities in the dorms was the convenience of having a computer lab located just downstairs. As much as I enjoy walking alone to Club Richter late at night to print out a copious number of slides, having a lab for Village residents would be preferable.
This brings us to the non-existent leasing center and mail room. As it is now, Village residents have to go all the way to Apartment 42G next to the BankUnited Center to pay rent or pick up mail. Aside from people who have post office boxes, I can’t think of anyone else who has to walk/drive that far to get their personal mail. What makes this inconvenience even more rewarding is when packages are involved and I have the pleasure of trekking across campus with innumerous bouquets of flowers from my many admirers. Now that’s a real treat. So much for modesty and humility.
Dining dollars aren’t going to smooth this one over, but subsidizing a small portion of our rent may. We are paying for facilities and services that were promised to us upon the signing of our leases, and until those promises are fulfilled, JPI needs to step up their game, fast. Apparently, it really does take a village, so maybe us “Village People” should pick up some hammers and nails and, in the spirit of the original Village People’s homosexually-charged construction worker, finish what JPI started. Or we can just have a keg party in the courtyard of Building 3 and bitch about how nothing is finished yet. Whatever.
Nayda Verier-Taylor is a junior triple-majoring in journalism, political science, and being awesome and better than you. She can, and should, be contacted at nveriert@umsis.miami.edu