Helpful hints about how first-years can make the year better for themselves and other students
Anya Cohen and Ethan Flack
Voice Staff
9.9.11
Coming into your first year of college, there is a lot to learn. Between figuring out how to balance your school and academic work with a social life, discovering what foods to avoid in Lowry and dodging the ever looming freshman fifteen, there can be a lot of important and helpful tips about college that get overlooked. Being one year older and feeling all the wiser, first-years, heed our advice.
First of all, a course at The College of Wooster is only as good as the professor who teaches it. Even if you know that you were put on this planet to be a Chemistry major, try taking a Psychology course with a professor that you hear is sublime. Talk to upperclassman and find out who they recommend. Don’t be shy, most Wooster students love to talk up their favorite professors.
Take full advantage of the very useful and very free resources that the College offers. A trip to the Writing Center, for example, will undoubtedly result in you turning in a better paper. While coaxing your best friend into editing a paper for you can feel like pulling teeth, the Writing Center will always welcome you with open arms.
The Learning Center is also a fantastic and free resource. While in high school your parents would have to dole out the big bucks to get you a tutor, the learning center will set you up with an overly competent study buddy for free. You can also pay a visit to the Learning Center for incredibly useful tips regarding time management. If you find yourself struggling with your classes a quick trip either to the Writing or Learning Center is sure to ease the stress.
When we were first-years, the last thing we wanted was to be recognized as such. We were in a constant state of attempting to blend in with the upperclassman crowd. Despite our solid attempts at making a chameleon of ourselves, we would be constantly picked out as a first-year and baffled as to why.
Now, when we scan Lowry, we’ve learned the dead give away of a first-year: they take forever in lines. The lingering in lines isn’t only a problem in Lowry, but also, the Sub Stop, Mom’s and Old Main. My advice: grab some food and go. You have the rest of your life to figure out whether the turkey sandwich at the Sub Stop has tomatoes in it, so there is no need to hold up the line of very hungry students by asking trivial questions to the workers.
To boys, being a bro is not cool. Signs of a bro include, but are not limited to, shell necklaces, long hair, pastel shirts with gym shorts and tank tops (which have not been in style since my parents were children). Being a bro will not get you all that far in life or with the ladies and no, bro-ness is not desired by potential employers.
To girls, flirting with senior guys might seem cool and exciting the night of, but come the next day when you are getting dirty looks from some girl you’ve never seen before, you’ll probably find yourself regretting that not so inconspicuous hand you had on that sexy senior’s thigh. It’s rare that an upperclassman boy does not have a protective upperclassman girl keeping an eye on him. Consider yourself warned.
When it comes to parties and Wooster nightlife, there is a thing or two that all first-years should keep in mind. Since most of you are not of age, alcohol is not something that you should be consuming. You especially should not be consuming massive amounts of free alcohol that you pick up at parties. Alcohol is not cheap and it is no one’s responsibility to make sure you have enough of it. Showing up to parties with the expectation of “gettin’ yo drank on” only demonstrates bad etiquette.
Another form of bad etiquette is showing up at a house party, unfamiliar with hosts and acting like you own the place. Bear in mind that you are in someone’s home and while you won’t have to wake up to the mess in the morning, someone else will. Recycle your cans, don’t steal stuff, don’t break stuff and don’t be rude. The only thing worse than an entitled college student is an entitled first-year college student.