 "Photo: Osa Okundaye")
In much the same way a fisheye lens takes an extremely wide image of the world around it, freshmen can become quickly overwhelmed by the massive influx of information associated with adjusting to a new college - particularly one as big as A&M.
The untrained eye can be terrified by this world, and are even warned about this during the New Student Conferences, but thes warnings are quickly forgotten and learned the hard way.
One of the most important adjustments for freshmen to make coming into college is learning to become more organized.
It isn't just class time and homework anymore - while most classes are at the same time every week, still many are irregular.
Furthermore, all of the responsibilities previously held by parents have fallen upon the student. While the work itself is time-consuming but usually not too difficult, organizing materials can be difficult, particularly when there's only one room. Where would one put dish soap, laundry detergent, snacks and a microwave? Certainly they belong in different places, but where?
The adjustment rate of freshmen is often reflected by the appearance of their dorm if they are living on campus. Some, such as my roommate, have all of their textbooks stacked in a bookshelf in some sort of order. Then there are religious quotes and family photos arranged neatly, a clean floor covered by a nice mat, and even a bed that's made daily.
Other freshmen, such as myself, have books stacked perpendicular to each other, if they're even in the bookshelf, posters of Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker haphazardly stuck to the walls, a floor covered with multiple bags stuffed with flyers, pens and cups, a bed that looks like it was drug out of a car wreck, and a notepad with nothing written on it except, "don't panic."
While formal traditions are explained by New Student Conferences, Fish Camp and Howdy Camp, many things are typical for college students but not labeled traditional and remain unexplained. I passed by Kyle Field one night heading out to a friend's apartment when I saw what appeared to be a cross between a nomadic invasion and a birthday party. Tents and empty pizza boxes littered the area, and students raced around on bikes or skateboards if they weren't busy playing Frisbee, watching a movie or playing multiplayer video games.
What I had discovered was a camp for seniors who were going to pull groups of tickets at once. They were taking turns staying at the camp for roll call in a manner akin to night guards changing shifts to ensure everyone got a reasonable amount of sleep.
Other surprises are not so pleasant to discover. For example, finding out that it is impossible to turn left onto John Kimbrough Boulevard from Wellborn Road between afternoon classes within half an hour, or taking the first break in an exercise routine at the Student Recreation Center to discover that the coldest water in the building is best described as lukewarm. Better yet, hiking from the southside dorms to the Rec only to realize that you've forgotten your towel, aren't carrying your wallet and thus can't afford a towel rental. That particular hike is one better enjoyed two times a day than four.
One other thing freshmen should be warned about are the various organizations around campus that have made it their personal goal in life to give you flyers or coupons by any means necessary. The determination these students show has not been seen since the French Revolution.
Do not, by any means necessary, lock eyes with them. Once they know they have your attention, there is no escape. The best solutions for evading flyers that you were already given an hour ago are to pretend to be holding a conversation on your cell phone or listen to a music player with both earbuds in your ears. Be brave, and walk past them with one of these two techniques, but don't try to physically evade them by crossing the street before and after their handout radius - they can smell fear.
For new students, there is a massive amount of information that is unrelated to classes themselves that has to be hunted down and discovered. My best suggestion is to find an upperclassman who is either really friendly or easily entertained so you can ask them every question you can possibly imagine, no matter how obvious or simple the answer may be. Ultimately, though, the only way to figure out the school is to make friends with both new and old students, form a group and explore the campus once the sun goes down, always carry a map and don't panic.
Steven Laxton is a freshman general studies major.
Be the first to comment on this article!