The absolute best thing about Alabama is Alabama football! The energy of the campus is phenomenal and being in the stadium with 96,000 other Crimson Tide fans is life changing! If I could change anything about the University I would do away with the Greek organizations. They provide a segregation between blacks and whites, upper class whites and lower class whites, as well as many in-state and out-of-state students. Many people join to meet new people which end up being the new people they spend the rest of their collegiate careers with. The Greek system is the beginning of the tensions that arise on campus. They receive special privileges. They are isolationists and if you can't beat them, most people just join them out of desperation. The school itself is tidy in size. By that I mean, you will know a lot of people just from commonalities, such as being at the Recreation Center at the same time, or being in the cafeteria around the same time, etc. So you will recognize faces and get an occasional hello. The interesting thing is wherever you go people always assume the University of Alabama is in Birmingham. Too often I have to clarify that the University of Alabama is in Tuscaloosa, and is not UAB, or Alabama State. Others who are familiar with the school though, instantly strike up a conversation about football, which is good that you can relate in some aspect, but begin to wish that there was more to Alabama than football. I spend most of my time at the Rec which is the greatest way to meet and interact with people. Often times, you are competing against people so often you develop a respect for one another. Other times, people in there see how committed you are to your workout program and ask questions or help. I love being in the Rec sometimes just to people watch. Or in my case girl watch. Tuscaloosa is the definition of a college town. There are two malls that are both one story and a Wal Mart. Other than that, you may have to travel to Northport which is two minutes away, or to Birmingham, a more healthy commute of about 45 minutes. The University of Alabama's administration is absolutely useless! Often times, I have sought an answer to a problem and have been sent to three different people only to be told to call back tomorrow. It is so frustrading dealing with people in the offices here, and it seems at times that some of the administrators simply don't want to help you, are distracted by something more important, or just don't care about your problem. The biggest recent controversy on campus is the idea of "a machine", a political regime organized by the Greek system to hold power in the Student Government Association. It is only a theory. The actual existence of this Machine has not been confirmed but there are conspiracy theories that the reason the past 50 or so SGA presidents have been members of predominately white Greek letter fraternities is mindboggling. This is backed by shady polling activities, intimidation methods of minority candidates, and unusual backing out of other candidates that may have a viable chance of winning to allow a lesser qualified candidate to take the position. There are a lot of questions surrounding whether "A Machine" exists to keep the power in place but nothing has solidified. UA is bountiful with school pride. Hate does not even describe what is felt about that other school in Alabama often referred to as the Cow College. UA used to have a real prevalent squirrel army in the summer and fall semesters, but they have declined in recent history. One experience I'll always remember is the day Coach Saban was announced as the new head coach at the basketball game. The place erupted so much so that they had to delay the game from all the people who stormed the court. The most frequent complaints at the school are the lack of parking and the even greater parking fines, the school store charging horrendous prices for books and giving nearly nothing back in return for them, and lighting in some places of the university.