As the 2010-11 school year comes to a close, we think back to the year and wonder: “What will we remember?”

For many of us, there isn’t much that we want to remember. This year has been one of the craziest, in many ways, year of our college careers.

First there was the oil spill, which may not have been on campus, but it affected a great many of us who live in the area. We could only be grateful that we didn’t have a hurricane to help stir up the water at the same time.

Then there was the threat of the budget cuts, which are still on many people’s minds. Many students are still afraid for their Nicholls future, as low-completer majors are on the line to be cut at any moment.

To top these outside threats, we had numerous deaths of faculty, staff and students, more than we remember being reported in a single school year before us. Some were natural, but a few weren’t.

Other than deaths, we also had a few arrests that reminded us that the Nicholls family is not infallible. Even our own students, faculty and staff can become corrupted.

And while the tobacco ban on campus has been implemented, there are still many people who don’t follow the University rule, which makes us question our future even more. If our University can’t take control of its students, faculty and staff, then what will happen to it and them? More than that, people are left still fearing second-hand smoke, which was part of the reason for the ban in the first place.

Further still, we were left to deal with all of this without our daily dose of coffee from our well-loved Jazzman’s, as it was removed and has yet to be replaced elsewhere on campus.

However, there are a few good things. Jazzman’s will come back, and it will be bigger and better than ever. In the meantime, there’s a new Student Engagement Center in Peltier Hall that serves coffee.

Also, though not everyone is following the new tobacco ban, at least it proves that Nicholls is trying to better the environment for its students, faculty and staff, as well as the community around it.

The Student Union is now offering new food options as well, with healthier choices that were difficult if not impossible to find before, so that has also worked well for us.

On that note, the University has been doing a lot of improvements. The library received new, better steps that don’t make us afraid to fall when we walk on them, and Talbot Hall now has an elevator. Nicholls’ plumbing system is also on the works, and we should be glad they caught it before it blew up in all of our faces. That would have been one stinky mess to clean up.

And, finally, we broke ground on the rec. center after all these years of talking about it. It’s not done yet, and as far as we can see, nothing really new looks to have been done there, but at least we know we’re getting closer to our goal.

Though it’s easier to remember the bad, we have to remind ourselves that there were some good things that happened this year as well.

Here’s to hoping that next year goes a little more smoothly.