As yet another school year begins, I’m faced with an interesting opportunity. I’m going to get the chance to have two senior years.
I had been planning to finish up at the University this spring. However, a number of factors colluded to persuade me to continue my education for another year. So here I am – back for more.
Second chances don’t come often in life, so I’m going to make the most of this one. I’m going to do this senior year differently than I did my last senior year. For better or worse, it’ll be different; when it’s done, I’ll be able to add a few more items to the list of things I’ve tried.
For one, this year will be different because there won’t be nearly as much pressure as last year. All my transcripts have been sent off to the Law School Admissions Council, so I don’t need to have a nervous breakdown every time I get a B. So even if I don’t develop full-blown senioritis, I can at least relax a little bit.
Another big way I plan to make this year different is the way I approach the myriad services to students on this campus. I’m paying just less than $200 per term in mandatory fees. This time, for the first time in my college career, I’m going to get my money’s worth out of those fees – and then some.
I’m going to attend every sporting event I can get tickets for, every outdoor club trip that fits in my schedule and every seminar that even remotely interests me. I’m going to read every issue of every campus publication, except for that one publication whose name I won’t mention here. You know the one I’m talking about. No, not that one, the other one.
I’m also going to exercise in the student recreation center until I either toughen up or seriously injure myself, whichever comes first. If I do toughen up, perhaps I’ll give intramural sports a try. If I seriously injure myself, the student health center is just down the street. So either way, I’m set.
Speaking of health, I’ll probably eat a lot of meals at Panda Express. I love Maple Garden, but MSG is a “sometimes” food.
Speaking of new construction on campus, how much does it suck to deal with the disruptions attendant to construction knowing that you’ll be long gone from the University before students are able to enjoy the benefits of these projects?
Inasmuch as we’ve already wandered onto the topic of random things around campus that piss me off, what’s with the noise? On the day Bush was inaugurated for his second term my afternoon class was delayed 15 minutes while a crowd trampled noisily down 13th Avenue. For the first couple minutes, I chuckled to myself about how pathetic it is to complain about a decision after it’s too late to change it. Then, I began to watch the clock as the delay dragged on.
It dawned on me that I was paying about 60 cents a minute for this nonsense. I briefly considered going downstairs and demanding a check for the $9 I had wasted to sit in that classroom and not learn. “Don’t these people realize this is a school?” I thought to myself. Apparently not. And they’re not the only ones.
Every time I’ve taken an afternoon class even remotely in the vicinity of the EMU Amphitheater, my academic endeavors have been assailed several times per term by various combinations of hackneyed folk music and hokey spoken-word performances.
Though I still intend to go to every student function I can, I have one request for the hard-working folks in the ASUO who plan these delightful events: Use a little f***ing common sense, please!
There’s absolutely no excuse to blast loud music and bad poetry from giant speakers in the middle of a school when there are literally hundreds of students within earshot who are paying lots of money for the opportunity to learn.
I’m not saying we shouldn’t have fun. I love fun. I’m the president of the fun fan club. But there’s a time for fun and there’s a time for taking seriously the investments we’ve all made in our education. Please, I beg you, save the noise for after normal class times or move it to a more appropriate venue.
So with that curmudgeonly rant, I’m back for another year of school. That also means I’m back for another year of columns (i.e. curmudgeonly rants). I’m ready to let the good times roll and the hate mail start pouring in.
seizing a SECOND CHANCE
Daily Emerald
September 18, 2005
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