Unless you were hiding under a rock, it would be near impossible to not notice that the Texas A&M University Board of Regents visited Stephenville. This was a historic visit for Tarleton State University, as it is our centennial celebration of being in the A&M System. However, the Tarleton administration cares more about the Board of Regents than students.

Before delving in, it is worth noting that Tarleton DOES care about their students. There are countless programs that exist solely to help students.

For example, the health center, the counseling center, the food pantry and countless others. Tarleton will always be a student focused university, but that is simply due to the culture and faculty and staff at Tarleton.

But for the Board of Regents meeting, the administration put up a façade. They spent countless man hours and money to make small improvements to campus for their visit.

They made sure that the handrails outside of the Barry B. Thompson Student Center were painted the same color, they made sure the bike racks were all painted the same color, they ensured that every window was clean. They even had someone fill in the cracks of the brick wall over by the Tarleton seal. The ballrooms in the student center were re-painted, re-tiled and re-carpeted. They made sure the light poles outside of the student center were re-painted. They had lotion put out in the bathrooms by the ballrooms for the regents.

“I wonder if after we leave, the lotion will stay in the bathrooms,” said Charles Schwartz the Chairman for the Board of Regents of the Texas A&M University System in his closing statements at the Board of Regents meeting.

The Administration even had all of the brick walls and sidewalks power washed. which they have needed for a while; they were dirty. But they weren’t washed for our sakes. They were washed so that when the Board visited, they would think campus is always this clean.

It is understandable that Tarleton wanted to go all out for the Board, after all they are Dr. F. Dominic Dottavio’s boss. But why can’t Tarleton do this for current students?

Why is the standard so different for students and the Board?

If “Tarleton will be the premier student-focused university in Texas and beyond,” is true, why isn’t Tarleton pulling out the stoppers for the current students?

As a junior, campus has been under construction since I arrived. Granted, the dorm they were building was out of the way, but Tarleton stated this excessive construction my freshman year. And with the all the current construction, they’ll still be building when I graduate in a year and a half. And I do understand that campuses will always have something that needs to be fixed or built, but space it out. Why does it need to be several projects at once?

Did anyone else notice that once crunch time hit, the construction workers sped up so that Rudder Way would be done by the time the Board got here. But since then, construction has come to a near halt?

We still can’t walk in front of the student center, still can’t walk five feet without seeing a construction fence or see construction workers leering at women who pass by?

But before the Board came, everyone was making sure that every blade of grass and piece of dirt was in line. Don’t get me wrong, I love Tarleton State University. This school will always hold a special place in my heart. But, why doesn’t Tarleton care about me that much? I pay to go here. I’ll be in debt for years because of this school. If the administration can spend that much money and time for a Board visit that lasted less than two days?

Why were the handrails painted for the Board, but not for students?

Why were the student center ballrooms remodeled for the Board, but not for students?

Why was construction rushed for the Board, but not for students?

Why did Tarleton spend thousands only for the board?

I’m not saying Tarleton isn’t student focused and doesn’t love you. I am questioning the motives of the administration at the school.