I have been out of my parents house for almost 2 decades now. My Dad had a rule that was pretty hard and fast when I was growing up. Unless we didn’t have the time, Dad would say when we were on our way to school or church or anywhere else, make up our beds and clean our rooms. It was certainly the hard and fast rule on Saturdays when we had time. Breakfast as a family, then clean our rooms. Make our beds, dust, vacuum, pick up everything, gather up our laundry for our Mom to wash, and then the three of us would clean our shared bathroom. Then, there was yardwork. In Tyler, it was leaf raking and leaf blowing as we lived in a neighborhood that was basically carved out of the natural woods of East Texas. When we moved to Van Zandt county, there was more grass and fewer trees, but that meant more mowing. We never loved it, but looking back, it made me realize how great our place looked when the leaves were raked and blow back into the woods or when our lush green yard was cut to perfection. We did this because early on my Dad established this as a routine. He figured that if we did this, we would appreciate what we had and would keep things clean, tidy, and take pride in what was ours. It was never neglected.

Two notable speeches that have been given over the past few years include lines about making your bed and cleaning your room. Canadian psychologist, sociologist, and professor Jordan Peterson was noted for saying “Clean your room.” What he meant by that was before younger people in this generation, typically those under 25 or so, thought it was there obligation to change the world or impact major change, they needed to do the small things in their own life first and make sure that the small things were taken care of before bigger endeavors were undertaken. His message was “Before you try to go save the world, tend to your own affairs first.”

In 2014 during commencement at The University of Texas at Austin, one of their most distinguished alums, Admiral William McRaven took the internet by storm when he told the UT class of 2014, “If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed. If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and then encourage you to do another task, and another, and another, and another, and by the end of the day that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce that the little things in life matter. If you cannot do the little things right, you will never be able to do the big things right, and if by change you have a miserable day, you will at least come home to a bed that is made.”

I was thinking about what to write after the attempt to change our University’s name to Texas A&M-Dallas failed. It made me think about how over the past few years, but even extending into the years before the past 5-10, how often we as a school go try to conquer the world before making our own beds and cleaning our rooms. No University is perfect and never will be, but there is always a foundation on which the great Universities of this nation are built on. Suffice it to say, we have not been doing a very good job at cleaning our room and making our bed. We spent thousands of dollars on this ill fated campaign to try to “rebrand” our school and all it did was take away from the good news that was finally starting to come our way and got our alumni base in an uproar. We seem to have wasted money more than the US congress does and that is quite the accomplishment.

I will start with housing and our academic buildings. Most of the academic buildings are still in pretty good shape, but there are some that need some serious attention. The Halliday Student Services Building is in AWFUL condition and needs renovations like last decade. It is a place that I went to when I started to get homesick and didn’t know if I could hack it in Commerce, America and I know others did as well. The Young Education North Building, where so many teachers are trained, needs attention. The Business school could use some updates as well. The “West Halls” that are located between The Phase III housing are nearing or already at outside renovation. Also, I have no idea if Berry and Smith Halls are even in operation anymore and if they are not, it is time for the wrecking ball to fly and make room for something else because they are certainly eyesores, and if they are still in operation, they need MASSIVE renovations. Again, we need to make sure our room is clean. Those are some of the most noticeable landmarks when driving up and down Highway 24 appearance is everything.

Which moves me to our athletic facilities. When we were in Division II, I could live with the facilities that were slow and steady in getting renovated or at least improved. However, we are not just talking about Hawkins Field at Memorial Stadium, The University Fieldhouse, or Whitley Gym. We are now talking about the Cain Family Softball field. It lacks a lot that is necessary for a Division I Softball facility. I know this because family members of several players have contacted me asking me to write about it. I know it seems so odd that a facility that is not even a full decade old yet would already be having issues, but another word comes to mind when I hear it, and that is the word that I think sums up so many of our facility problems…neglect. I often wonder how we have kept our Soccer field in such a great shape until I realize that it really doesn’t take much effort to maintain it compared the rest of the facilities. That being said, one of the reasons I was so against us going Division I when we did was because of how far behind we are on our facilities. When the announcement was made that we were moving up, I thought, “Surely, there will be SOME improvements immediately made.” I was wrong. We have constructed a new welcome center and it is impressive, but for YEARS we have needed upgrades to Hawkins Field at Memorial Stadium and the University Fieldhouse. For over a decade our Female Lion fans have asked for better restrooms at Memorial Stadium, and have yet to get them. Who knows how many recruits or students we have lost because they have come year after year and seen nothing change. Same thing with The Fieldhouse. All of that is because of one word and one action….neglect.

Now, lest anyone think I am being “overtly negative” there have been some major changes since I have been an undergraduate. The Rayburn Student Center is second to none. The new residence halls are fantastic. Whitely Hall has kept up with the times as a campus landmark, and the Nursing and Biomedical Sciences Building might be the crown jewel of the campus. I am fully aware of this and we did need new buildings and we got them. However, as I was preparing to write this article, I spoke with a handful of former administrators who said “At Kingsville, Tarleton, West Texas, Prairie View, when they need improvements, they get improvements. Our problem is the administration as a whole not having the political acumen to get these things done.” I would have to agree.

This November, the Texas A&M Board of Regents will vote to approve a new events center for our school. If approved, we could have the ground breaking by Christmas. However, since 2006 I have been hearing from Presidents, Administrators, Provosts and everyone else about how we will have this and that, and almost 20 years later and we have nothing to show for. Time to put the money where the mouth is, but that would require getting the money first. When we get this center, spare no expense, and keep it up for generations to come.

It is time to make our beds and clean our rooms EVERY SINGLE DAY. Starting now.