I am going to miss Kent State.

There. I said it. As graduation looms closer and closer, I have finally come to terms with my feelings for the university and the surrounding town. There are quite a few things I am going to miss about this place.

• My weekly “bitchfest” about President Lefton or President Barack Obama. Even that heart attack feeling of having enough taurine running through my veins to kill a small bull as I try to finish an article for The Burr.

• Prentice Café – home of the best food and dining staff on campus. Sure, some of the workers can be disgruntled and half-crazy, but you would too if you had to put up with the kind of idiots Dining Services staff has to deal with. (P.S. If there are burgers on the grill, I can not make them grill faster just because you are late for class.)

• Walking around downtown to the various book and record stores where so many treasures are buried beneath the vinyl, plastic and paper. Some of my best memories I have are of rummaging through stacks of books at Last Exit Books or carefully combing through the used section at Turnup Records.

• Jim – While I do not want to turn this column into a virtual shout-out, I would be wrong not to mention the force of nature in Prentice Café. He is the crazy cook I have loved since day one. He has been an inspiration to me in so many ways, from helping me with column ideas to venting about the state of affairs the world has gotten itself into.

• So many nights my friends and I have found ourselves at Ray’s, The Loft or Water Street Tavern. Having such a wide variety of bars in walking distance is surely going to be something I will be missing – along with their specials. Soon I will be dragged back to the land of expensive beers, kicking and screaming all the way.

While there are things I have loved about my experiences at the university, there have also been several that made me question whether college was really for me. There are things Kent State could be doing better to help their students.

• Security guards are no better than Hitler’s secret police. They get off on spotting a minor infraction through a window so they can pound on doors and try to catch you for having alcohol. Rarely are they friendly or helpful.

• So much money is wasted in a vain attempt to have entertainment for the students. In my time at Kent State I have seen them bring acts such as Jurassic 5, Chingy and OAR, all of which were brought long after they were popular. I would rather spend less on tuition than seeing archaic musicians pretending they are still popular.

• Professors always think they’re right – even when they are dead wrong. There is no use arguing because it will just hurt your grade. This was the first lesson I learned in college from a political science course at the Tuscarawas branch.

In all likeliness this will be my last time typing on one of the computers in the newsroom. To all fans, friends, colleagues and people who will be glad to see me gone, I bid adieu.

Rock on.

Ted Hamilton is a senior magazine journalism major and columnist for the Daily Kent Stater. Contact him at [email protected].