Paolo's Post

SSB 

By: Paolo Morales

            Hello freshman, I want to introduce you to my area of observation. The only thing it consists of is the Student Service Building and parking lots. The building is on the intersection of Racine and Harrison if ever you need to go there. It’s also right across from the big parking lot west of East Campus and across the UIC Pavilion.

This place is interesting because mainly students from UIC go here to either inquire about financial aid, U-Pass, which is the train and bus pass. This isn’t a building you would want to go to if you have an academically related question. I asked Savannah, a freshman, “Why are you going to this building?” She responds, “My dad is a soldier, and so I have to talk to them about financial aid”. This is the place where you get your I-card, which is your University ID. You should make sure you have your I-Card on yourself at all times because it can buy you food on campus, it can open doors, and it will get into your dorm room if your living on campus. What I found interesting is that the building used to be a shopping mall. The computer lab used to be a Burger King and it’s funny because they still have the original tiles and counters from the restaurant.

            There is a snack shop right in the center when you walk into SSB. Though when I was there, I never saw anyone buy anything from it, probably because it’s pretty expensive especially just for snack food. I suggest looking around for a restaurant because there are many outside campus that sells meals for very cheap.

            The conversations I overheard were the same you would here almost any other place on campus. I overheard people talking about how to get places, their personal life, sports, dorm life, roommates, The thing is that most people are on their phone conversing rather than conversing with someone else. The reason I believe that their on phones is because no one wants to go walk with their friend to the building because it’s a good walk from east campus, which is why most of the people that go here are by themselves. I also noticed that if people aren’t talking on their phones, they are still doing something on their phone anyways. Also, there is a constant flow of people coming in and out and that shows that students actually use this building for all the questions they have about their financial needs. You should also know that you could go here for testing services, student employment, student development, support for Native-Americans, international services, technology and system programming, the Dean of students, counseling center, African American academic network, and academic center for excellence. You can probably tell that this building is a good size since there are many offices in there.

This is not the place you would want to hang out or relax because of all the people and cars rushing around. There’s not much scenery besides the plants and trees. I would recommend a place where you can see the Willis Tower, especially at night.

            The environment outside is nice. There’s plenty of vegetation around the building. It’s a bit noisy though because it’s on the corner of an intersection so cars are always honking. There is vegetation inside also. I’m not sure if it’s fake or not but I think adds a nice touch. Getting around is pretty confusing for me. I’m sure that if I go there more often that I’ll get the hang of it but the thing is that I feel that I won’t have to go there often, so I’m not the least bit worried.  

            The Student Service Building is a great example of the UIC mission statement, which is, “To provide a wide range of students with the educational opportunity only a leading research university can offer. I think that SSB represents the statement fully because it has many offices that are made specifically for students’ financial needs, which makes opportunities for students to go to college who cant afford it. Also knowing UIC’s history, which was destroying a neighborhood to make room for a university, it makes a lot of sense that this building used to be a shopping mall.