So before you completely pass of my title with laughter and cynicism, consider these facts:
UNCG already has several major companies embedded in the campus, like Bojangles, Starbucks, Subway, Pizza Hut, etc. There is a small convenient store, but lacks any full size grocer.
This is for a student population of over 20,000 students and faculty, all which would likely use Trader Joes. Friendly's per capita population can't even come close to comparing.
The location, is close to shopping centers, both on High Point Road, Friendly, Battleground, and Downtown. In fact, it's ground zero. It's also free-way accessible (as well as major arteries) unlike the Friendly Center area via several streets. (Both 29 and 40/85)
The culture of both student life, and Trader Joe's seems to coincide with one another. (Tree hugger, bike riders, whom are too pretentious to shop at Food Lion.)
Considering the type of employee, Trader Joe's is likely to hire, having students indebted to the national government, constantly available, with no transportation issues seems like a win-win situation. Seriously, do you think those spoiled brats over in Friendly Center are going to work very hard, when mommy and daddy are loaded? Come hire from the poor school, where we're glad to run a register to pay for student loans.
There's no competition. No grocery stores anywhere near here. Seriously.
They may be rich over on Friendly, but we have crap loads of student aid. Plus half of us haven't learned proper money management, and are easily enticed by novelty retailers such as Trader Joe's. (Repeat, 20,000 students with "free moneyz" as my classmates call it, and who are ready to consume corn-nuts and east Guatemalan water suckle smoothies like you've never seen before.
I'm sure there are other reasons too, but I can't think of a better place to put a Trader Joes than in UNCG. Heck put it down the street, just within walking distance. Screw those rich Friendly people.
So I keep getting asked, how I like UNCG. "Is it a good school?" I've only been attending a week, so I'm not sure I'm the best person to answer this question, but my answer, so far is "Yes!"
It's taken a bit of adjustment. It's not what I thought it was going to be like, and it certainly isn't anything like my short experience at Western Carolina. If I were to best describe my experience so far, I'd have to say UNCG is organized chaos.
It starts the moment you arrive on campus and park. If you arrive before 11 AM the campus is shockingly calm. I know when I was in high school, there was colleges with reputations of "party schools", but I find it absolutely odd, especially being a commuter student with other responsibilities, that campus doesn't really get rocking till about 11 AM. Once it does, it's epically insane. Vendors in the sidewalks, bikes weaving in and out of people, cars driven by lunatics, and people running from one side of campus to the other to make it to class on time with the short ten minute class change times.
I suddenly realized on Monday, I could not make my French class in time from my drama class due to the logistics of the two classes being at complete opposite sides of the campus, and the trek being entirely up hill. So Monday evening I went out and purchased a bike rack for Le Metro (my affectionate Geo) and on Tuesday, I took my bike to school. This in itself has required some coordination, since campus is sort of wibbly wobbly. If you're in my shoes, then you actually want to park the bike on College Drive and and walk down to the science building. Trying to bike up hill, (or carry the bike up steps [tried that!]) is insanely futile unless you're Lance Armstrong. This still involves a half mile bike ride up a slight incline, and if I bike as fast as my fat arse can pedal, I'll make it to my seat in French class sweating and wheezing like a swine, just before to bell tolls. (I'm certain I'm fulfilling my American stereotype in my French teachers eyes.) I highly recommend a bike. In fact, I think it's a requirement of attendance in my opinion. There are some downsides. Bike racks, aren't always where you need them, (can we please get one behind the Ferguson Bldg?) and there is no-defined bike lanes on pedestrian walks (like College Dr. [or at least that I can figure out.]); it's almost dangerous. More importantly, if I had one specific hope for change while at UNCG, it would be for Spring Garden Street to be closed completely to cars, or at least made one-way. Crossing the street is downright nail-biting on foot or bike.
Class formats are vastly different then what I've experienced before. Most of the professors seem keen of reading, and self teaching for students, followed by review and lecture. (One class I have as over eight books to purchase, most have 3-4.) I'm accustomed to it being reversed, and it does make you wonder if this format is due to the size of the student body, or perhaps a less personalized approach to educating. (Not all my classes follow this format, but most do.) I'm not so sure it's inherently bad, but it does put a great deal of responsibility on the student. With the cost of education, I could see how some students may find such methodologies conflicting with their expectations for educators. I also should point of many of the professors are completely hot (both male and female). Apparently you must pass some sort of beauty contest to gain employment at UNCG. It certainly makes it difficult to argue against going to class, when everyone just looks so darn good.
Criticisms aside though, by Friday, I was really warming up to UNCG. My professors seem to have a wealth of knowledge, who push you hard, and make you think. They ask a lot of you, in fact the whole campus does, both physically and mentally, but I love it. Is UNCG a good school? The verdict is still out, but I can honestly say, I've made more positive changes in my life, this week, then I have in quite awhile, and isn't that what university is all about?
Update: Last day of the semester:
Well today was my last final exam. Decided to make a time-lapse of the journey (first ever attempt). The next time I enter a classroom should be in Brussels in the fall. Parting is such sweet sorrow, as UNCG has become a second home to me.
So I went to my SOAR session the other day. SOAR which is an acronym for pain in the tuchas, is a mandatory whole day seminar for new students attending UNCG. GTCC had one as well, though you could take it online. UNCG would likely be wise to consider a similar option. While I can't deny it's helpful to some people, I spent the good part of Thursday doing ice-breakers, and pretending to be excited with a new sense of collegiate school spirit (and I am) while being threatened not to copy and paste from Google, or else I'll arrive in the assistant Dean's Office. The only thing soaring that day was my sore rear. (I was also sick) In fact the only information I received, that I wasn't aware of, was the cost of parking. $450 a year parking. That's right.
Now I like the concept. Several years ago, UNCG was deciding to build more parking facilities or not, and decided to encourage alternative forms of transportation. (walking, biking, etc.) I applaud them for doing so. The problem, is, I live just beyond the reach of the public bus system, and this semester I must pick up my children within thirty minutes of getting out of my last class. This does not provide me a lot of options with parking off campus, and biking in, or any other non-car options.Yet I can't really argue with their policy. It's what I'd love to see across the US, and given, if I didn't have kids, I'd love to park remotely and walk. The problem is, as my conservative friends might argue, "This is America dammit!", and the infrastructure doesn't facilitate well, when institutions such as UNCG attempt a hybrid system. (Especially in car-centric NC.) This leaves me holding the bill for a cringeful, $450 parking bill to put my 50 MPG Metro in the parking deck. (Could I just chain it to the bike rack? It's small enough.)
What do we say? MONORAIL!
I remember back in the 90's, I had a drama teacher from UNCG performing her student teaching, and she advised us, high-schoolers at the time, that parking was horrific then. She said she never paid for the permit. Just parked illegally and paid the tickets. She said it always came out cheaper. Considering, it's a decade and half later, I assume this loophole, in the system, has been filled. Indeed, at SOAR, we were threatened to have our cars "booted" if we should try. Another threat.
I'm now so scared to go to school, I think I might vomit.
Ideally I think UNCG needs a monorail. A giant freaking monorail to some giant parking complex. Yes, a subway, a metro, now that's forward thinking. It should have been done ten years ago. Greensboro should have helped. It still involves walking, and riding public transportation, but it's timely, convenient, and it would solve the problems, such as myself might have. I doubt I'm alone. That said, I'll keep my stiff upper lip, keep calm, and carry on. I've timed my journey by stopwatch, and I can make it to my car in 6 minutes, sweating and huffing. If I can just make it to the kids school on time, maybe I can thwart their $15 a day late charge on picking up the kids.
Geesh, school is expensive.
So if you see me on campus after 1:50, running like a mad woman to my car. Please don't stop and say hello. I'm on a mission.
