College days revisited
Sep. 11th, 2001 12:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
khaosworksOne thing I do not miss about University. The walking. Christ almighty, but I'd forgotten how bloody sprawling and huge the campus was. The story goes that they deliberately built it this way, with the Arts and Social Sciences faculties on one end of the campus and the Medical and Science faculties waaaaay on the other side so it would be nearly impossible for students to organize rapidly to protest or riot. Given the paranoid nature of the authorities here, I believe it.
But what a wonderful thing is campus bureaucracy. I went to the Dean's Office to ask for my transcript and diploma. The clerk there told me that the diploma had to be found in the Registrar's Office in the Administration Building, and gave me a form to fill out for the transcript, telling me to go pay the fee at the Office of Finance and hand it to the Registrar's Office.
So I spend ten minutes walking up and down stairs back to the Administration Building, only to discover that the Registrar's Office is no longer there, but in the new University Hall. Which is on the far North side of campus, blocked from me by the Engineering faculty.
Now, you got to understand that the campus is built on rolling hills - which means lots of stairs, going up and down, like an Escherian nightmare. To give an example of the crooked house mentality, it is entirely possible for the first floor of a building to be connected to the fifth floor of the adjacent building. In fact, once, due to heavy rain, the seventh floor of an engineering block got flooded. True story, swear to God.
So I trudge up and down for another twenty minutes trekking across the maze of buildings that are the Engineering faculty, the pain in my shins and calves reminding me how incredibly out of shape I am. I make it to University Hall, go up to the Registrar's Office on Level 2 and ask for my diploma. "Oh," they say, "This is the postgraduate Registrar's Office. You want the undergraduate office on Level 4." Now, the logic behind this, given that I am asking for my postgraduate diploma, is beyond me, but hey.
Up to Level 4. The guy there is actually helpful, and they manage to find my diploma, which has been locked away in a strongroom somewhere for the last six years. Joy. Then I ask them about my transcript. They say I have to hand this to the Law faculty Dean's Office. "But I was just there, and they told me to come here." Sorry, we don't handle this. You need the Dean's Office. "Oookay, but what about paying for the transcript fee?" Office of Finance.
Down to Level 1. "Here, I want to pay for this." The woman takes a look at this. There's no postal fee involved, right? Okay, go up to the Registrar's Office, and tell them, and they'll take your money. Trudge up to Level 4 again. The guy gives me a blank look. "Maybe they don't know about this," he suggests helpfully. Back down to Level 1. By this time I'm feeling like Asterix in The House That Drives You Mad, or a token on a Snakes and Ladders board. I convince the woman in the Finance Office that they can accept my money.
Twenty more minutes trudging back to the Dean's Office and handing the form to the clerk there. I think I've lost three pounds in sweat alone.
I must note that all the staff were singularly courteous and were as helpful as they could. It was just the goddamn distance I had to travel back and forth between offices which was annoying as hell.
Anyway, stuff's done. I'm back. Cold drink. Air-conditioning. Put on some music. Life continues.
But what a wonderful thing is campus bureaucracy. I went to the Dean's Office to ask for my transcript and diploma. The clerk there told me that the diploma had to be found in the Registrar's Office in the Administration Building, and gave me a form to fill out for the transcript, telling me to go pay the fee at the Office of Finance and hand it to the Registrar's Office.
So I spend ten minutes walking up and down stairs back to the Administration Building, only to discover that the Registrar's Office is no longer there, but in the new University Hall. Which is on the far North side of campus, blocked from me by the Engineering faculty.
Now, you got to understand that the campus is built on rolling hills - which means lots of stairs, going up and down, like an Escherian nightmare. To give an example of the crooked house mentality, it is entirely possible for the first floor of a building to be connected to the fifth floor of the adjacent building. In fact, once, due to heavy rain, the seventh floor of an engineering block got flooded. True story, swear to God.
So I trudge up and down for another twenty minutes trekking across the maze of buildings that are the Engineering faculty, the pain in my shins and calves reminding me how incredibly out of shape I am. I make it to University Hall, go up to the Registrar's Office on Level 2 and ask for my diploma. "Oh," they say, "This is the postgraduate Registrar's Office. You want the undergraduate office on Level 4." Now, the logic behind this, given that I am asking for my postgraduate diploma, is beyond me, but hey.
Up to Level 4. The guy there is actually helpful, and they manage to find my diploma, which has been locked away in a strongroom somewhere for the last six years. Joy. Then I ask them about my transcript. They say I have to hand this to the Law faculty Dean's Office. "But I was just there, and they told me to come here." Sorry, we don't handle this. You need the Dean's Office. "Oookay, but what about paying for the transcript fee?" Office of Finance.
Down to Level 1. "Here, I want to pay for this." The woman takes a look at this. There's no postal fee involved, right? Okay, go up to the Registrar's Office, and tell them, and they'll take your money. Trudge up to Level 4 again. The guy gives me a blank look. "Maybe they don't know about this," he suggests helpfully. Back down to Level 1. By this time I'm feeling like Asterix in The House That Drives You Mad, or a token on a Snakes and Ladders board. I convince the woman in the Finance Office that they can accept my money.
Twenty more minutes trudging back to the Dean's Office and handing the form to the clerk there. I think I've lost three pounds in sweat alone.
I must note that all the staff were singularly courteous and were as helpful as they could. It was just the goddamn distance I had to travel back and forth between offices which was annoying as hell.
Anyway, stuff's done. I'm back. Cold drink. Air-conditioning. Put on some music. Life continues.
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Date: 2001-09-11 06:04 am (UTC)Actually, most of the buildings were windowless on the first floor. They had steel plating there instead; it has since been replaced with large sheets of smoky-brown glass. The upper floors have windows that greatly resemble arrowslits. Next time you're in town, let me know, I'll give you a tour.
Love the 7th floor flooding, though. :->