This is my second review because I seemed to have triggered the little stinkers at Yelp or IC. They…read morehid my review I made in February. I gave them 3 stars then, but nope, I'll only give them 1 now.
I'm not a student but I visit the place every month to see my girlfriend who is a student. Most of my time is spent in Pixley Hall and the Schewe Library, so I'll only focus on those. Pixley doesn't seem too bad, there's a pool table on the first floor and it's located within walking distance from the classrooms. Dorms are tiny though, there are no guest dorms, and the rooms become even smaller when you consider they all house 2 people. Speaking of people, students are often very loud and obnoxious in the hallway at all hours of the night, and the rooms provide minimal soundproofing. Room and board is ridiculously overpriced for a shoebox and, I kid you not, there was a student who smeared poop onto the Pixley bathroom walls. A meeting had to be called to remind students of basic hygiene.
On paper, Schewe Library is amazing. After all, it is a library (ba dum tss). There's a big room with a projector that anyone can use to watch YouTube videos or movies. There are puzzles, board games, legos, a touchscreen whiteboard, and a spot to get tea and coffee. There are relaxation rooms that are indeed relaxing. There's also an archive downstairs documenting the War of Northern Aggression.
However, there's more to Schewe than meets the eye. The library staff had a month dedicated to 'Banned books', and by 'Banned Books', I mean books like Maus, Captain Underpants, The Great Gatsby, and GLTB porn books. The library makes a big show about how the books are "banned" and how naughty it is to read them. Meanwhile, what they don't tell you, is that downstairs there's a room off limits to the public where the books that offend the library staff are hidden. The room has a shelf with a sticky note on it labelled 'Shelf of Shame'. I have attached a photo showcasing some of these books. These are the ACTUAL banned books that Schewe doesn't want you reading. You don't have to agree with the books to recognize how stupid and hypocritical it is to censor these books while celebrating a 'Banned Book Month'. Some of these books are feminist literature, something one would expect a Liberal Arts college like IC to appreciate, given the college heavily promoted Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October.
But nope, they decided to censor a book called 'WOMEN'S GUIDE TO FIGHTING BACK - DON'T BE A VICTIM.'
Among other books. See the attached images for reference.
The subject matter of these books paint a pretty vivid picture of the person(s) who put them there. Any book that may have an alternative viewpoint on alcoholism, homosexuality, or feminism seems to strike a chord. Also, I guess whoever it is hates Scientology too.
One librarian, while printing papers, made me feel uncomfortable by aggressively staring disapprovingly. I'm not pointing fingers. Unlike the Schewe Library, I encourage you to draw your own conclusions.
