I am honored to speak on behalf of the students about our amazing new building. So I want to say a special thank you to Harold and Marian Andersen for giving me this great opportunity.
I am an advertising major at UNL and have called the J school home for three years now. I’m a senior. Most seniors you talk to at UNL are counting the days until graduation. I, on the other hand, don’t want to graduate. Considering graduation is the ultimate goal of every student at this college, this may sound a bit ironic, but I’m not the only senior who thinks this way.
In order to prepare what I would say today, I talked to students from all three majors in my college to get their thoughts about the new building. The responses from seniors many times were along the lines of “We just moved in, and now we have to leave.”
Many students agree there is a certain new feeling you get when you walk into Andersen Hall. The feeling is one of esteem.
“It makes me feel important,” one student said. “It has the ‘feeling’ you want in a building.”
Students said this “feeling” comes from the beautiful architecture and modern look of Andersen Hall. One of my favorite things about Andersen Hall is the fact that from the moment you set foot in the building you just know you’re in the journalism college.
Broadcasting students have fallen in love with the new KRNU facility. The student radio station is complete with state of the art studios and its own interview rooms. Students love the fact that it is out in the open with glass windows for all to catch a glimpse of what goes on inside.
Many news-editorial majors spoke of the extraordinary newsroom we now have. Students love the new computers in the computer labs and the convenience of their location. Above the newsroom is a wall of TVs. “The look of the TVs is awesome,” a news-ed major said. “It helps us stay in tune with the rest of the world at all times.”
One thing a lot of students mentioned was how much they like the fact that the news-editorial and broadcasting departments will intermix and share the newsroom. Each professor I spoke with also mentioned this.
“The communication flow has improved unbelievably,” one professor said.
Advertising students I spoke to can’t say enough about how much they like the lounge area on third floor. The couches are perfect for brainstorming or relaxing. One student said she liked the fact that the same couches were brought over from the old building.
“I love how they have preserved the old stuff in Avery and incorporated it with the new in Andersen.”
Another ad major said, “It feels like a real agency. It has really brought us up to date.”
While Avery has served its purpose well, our new building with all of its features and technology will help all our students develop the skills needed to thrive in their chosen field.
One student raised a great point when he said, “We are a top journalism school based on the professors and their experiences in the field and the program they’ve built. Before, Avery masked that. It was a mask of a smaller and dingier college.
“Now we have the quality and the look to go with it.”
I spoke with a student on the Student Advisory Board who gives tours to new students on Red Letter Days. She said she always dreaded showing new students Avery Hall. Now, she said, Andersen is the pride of every tour.
Andersen Hall is a new beginning. It has helped unify our college and has instilled a sense of pride in everyone involved.
One student said, “It makes every incoming freshman and outgoing senior feel like, for once, they are a part of one of the best communications facilities in the nation. And that is really something to be proud of.” Another professor said it best when she noted, “The bottom line is that this will enrich our students’ education. This environment encourages us to develop a strong sense of community in and between our departments. The result is pride in our college that you can see in our eyes and hear in our voices.”
I believe I could go on all day with the quotes and positive feedback that I received. But from these responses it is easy to see that students and professors alike are bursting with pride for Andersen Hall. With a building like this, can you blame me for not wanting to graduate? On the other hand, attending classes in a building of this quality will most definitely provide each and every one of us with an optimistic look toward the future.
On behalf of the students, I’d like to thank Dean (Will) Norton and Dr. (Linda) Shipley for having this vision and seeing it through. And a big thank you to all whose efforts have made Andersen Hall possible.