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Auraria's big clock block
By Andrew Flohr-Spence
spencand@mscd.edu

The older Asian gentlemen were giggling like schoolgirls. Pointing up at the clock – one of the large, nearly invisible, white goliaths that embellish the North Classroom – the two seemed nervously amused that the hands read 6:15 when the time was really nearer to noon. I couldn’t understand a word they were saying, but “how stupid to have a clock and not fix it” was pretty clear from their body language.

Truth be known, until the jovial pair reminded me, I had long since stopped noticing the errant timepieces. The clocks had become one with the rest of the buildings for me, providing no more information than a door or window. But these two foreigners had the strange idea that the clocks, being more than just ornament or architecture, were actually meant to tell time.

“Welcome to Auraria,” I wanted to tell them. “We do things differently here.”

To understand why the clocks do not work, one must understand the philosophy behind Auraria and how complicated it is running a three-school campus with only the students’ success in mind. With so many higher priorities, the campus can’t get around to every little thing, and sometimes the clocks are neglected.

The maintenance of the entire campus is the responsibility of the Auraria Higher Education Center, the organization in charge of pretty much everything on campus. Overseen by the Auraria Board of Directors and funded by state institutions and student fees, AHEC not only runs the parking lots, rents out the Turnhalle and keeps the grass growing on the soccer field, but also tirelessly sees to it that even the lights turn on. Whether it’s for a semester parking pass or a banquet in a conference room, toilet paper in the bathrooms or tar on the roofs, AHEC answers the call.

However, they are not miracle workers. There are many areas in which Auraria must prioritize what best serves the student, forgoing the chance to make an easy buck to pay for some needed maintenance. And really, how would an accurate clock serve the students? It comes down to making tough choices, choices AHEC makes out of love for the students.

How can we really complain when we are asked to pay so little for parking? Can we question where the resources are spent when we enjoy the soft comfort of the best toilet paper money can buy? Does anyone doubt the care that went into choosing the diverse array of Tivoli food vendors? When we see the cute little electric trucks they drive around, can we turn and moan about something so trifling as whether or not the clocks tell the correct time?

The clocks will run on time, if AHEC can find the time to fix them. Auraria’s priority is to give students an inexpensive, pleasant and architecturally pleasing experience, not to make sure every little gadget on campus is working.

The two laughing strangers can keep their rigid concept of clock maintenance! This school operates on the higher principle that making education affordable for everyone is more important than time or profit. The clocks on campus should be left broken as testimony to this higher calling.

Illustration by Adam Goldstein • goldstea@mscd.edu