Those of you who know me know that when I graduated from Monmouth University, I was glad to get out for a variety of reasons. Paramount among these reasons was my strongly held belief that the university didn’t do enough to protect the rights of their students living off-campus. Intrinsically attached to this belief was the idea that the Greek system at Monmouth is held at an artificial, mediocre level of success. The latter belief, by the way, was cemented in my mind a few years after I graduated when my old Greek chapter was named the #1 chapter in the nation and the university never officially congratulated them, but instead said that while they may be #1 in the nation, they may not be #1 on campus.

The stupidity is truly breathtaking.

Again, for those of you that know me, there are a dozen or so more reasons why I don’t miss being an undergraduate at Monmouth (stuffy English professors, horrendous parking, a rained-out graduation, etc), but I have to admit that it is sort of cool to see the new Multipurpose Activity Center (MAC) coming to life on the campus.

Maybe it’s because I graduated six years ago and I am, by and large, “over” many of the issues from my college days, but I’m glad to see the new MAC towering over the commuter lot. I spent a lot of time as an undergraduate being an unofficial ambassador of the university (I say unofficial because the school doesn’t recognize Greeks who attend national events in the name of their school as ambassadors – go figure). I would travel to national and regional events which almost always took place near other universities of Monmouth’s size and I would see their gigantic sports centers. Then I’d go back home to Monmouth and see the Boylan Gymnasium and get a bit let down at the whole thing.

Monmouth was always capable of so much more and having the MAC almost completed – only a few years after two brand new academic buildings were constructed – proves that fact. Once the new dorm is in place and a few other projects are completed, Monmouth will be well on its way to being the campus that is should be. Of course the university still has to figure out legitimate Greek housing, but for the time being I’ll be glad with the MAC and the two new academic buildings.

Some more on the MAC from the Asbury Park Press:

Fitness center flooring and equipment is due at any moment, the second floor six-lane track has been laid, and third floor luxury suites are awaiting furniture. All 19 Monmouth athletic teams have locker rooms in the MAC. “”In the locker rooms the lockers are being installed,” Cornero said. “”We’re pretty close to finishing here.” Landscaping outside the glass door entrances is expected to be complete for the building’s official fall opening. Redshirt senior guard Whitney Coleman, who reported he has been cleared to play after suffering an opening night knee injury last season, said there’s much anticipation for when the teams will be able to run onto the court for the first time. ”Everybody wants to be the first person to come in here, late at night, get some shots up,” Coleman said. “”It’s a race to see who gets here first. We’re all really excited.”

Sounds like a good time. You never know – I might actually look into season tickets for the basketball team now…