WANT TO be wise in the ways of the Wahoo? Fear not, dear first year. Adhere to the following list of "Dos and Don'ts" and you soon will be having a fine first semester.
Do get out while you can. If, during the second meeting of a class, you are blessed with a sudden moment of clarity and realize "Hey, this professor is a crashing bore," get out. Get out now. Do not stay in the class in the hopes that it will get better. It is a sad fact that the Interesting Fairy and her sister, the Sense of Humor Fairy, are more generous in their gifts to some professors than others.
If you cannot stay awake on the second day, imagine how you will feel in November. It's not worth your time, or your parents' money, to take classes that don't interest you, so seek out the ones that do. You can only take five or six classes a semester. Make them count.
Do try to stay healthy. Since you are stuck with dining hall food, try to make the most of it and eat those green leafy things from the salad bar once in a while. It may seem like a good idea at the beginning of the semester to eat only the things that taste good - and that list is short. Be warned, however, that adopting a pizza-and-frozen-yogurt diet will not make your body happy.
It also will lead to the Freshman Fifteen, which is not quite as much fun as it sounds. To avoid it, many students get ambitious and hit the gyms. If you're one of those people who think of gyms as places where already-buff people wear coordinated spandex outfits and only take breaks from the treadmills to point and laugh at others, calm down right now. Unless you wear a fuschia-and-lime striped leotard, there is a good chance no one will notice the ineptitude you display.
If you are still gym-phobic, a good way to keep in shape is simply to walk everywhere instead of taking the bus. When you live on Alderman Road or McCormick and all your classes are in Cabell Hall, there is much trekking to be done. You can use this to your advantage as long as you remember to wear comfortable shoes.
Do not do as I did if you are a liberal arts sort of person and need to fulfill your math/science requirement. Do not look at STAT 112, Introduction to Statistics, and think to yourself, "Statistics? That can't be hard. I mean, that's pie charts and stuff! Pie charts are fun!" No. No pie charts for you. Statistics is, in fact, real math.
So, if you have any concern for your GPA, take Environmental Science classes instead. They are interesting and do not require liberal arts majors to make ritual sacrifices, sell their souls or resort to the use of other black arts to pass them.
Do not feel like a loser if everyone around you is "pre-med," "pre-law" or "pre-Indian religious ceremonial studies" and you kind of think you might like history, or something else without a "pre" in front of it. No one expects you to know what you want to do with your life right away - at least, not until spring of your second year, when you have to declare a major.
Chances are, the people who seem to be so emphatic about pre-this or pre-that in their first year are just saying that because it feels better than saying "I haven't the foggiest" when asked what one's life plans are. In my Alderman Road suite of 10 people, four were pre-med first semester. By May, all but one had changed their minds.
Do interact with people unlike yourself, as the opportunity to do so is part of what makes college life great. Unfortunately, University students tend to splinter off into their own little racial, ethnic or interest groups and stay there forever. Self-segregation is a bad habit. Be the class to break it. If no one around you seems to be talking to people who are different from themselves, be the one to do it first. Have courage to be the exception and you will help to make a new rule.
Do talk to your professors and TAs. This is the time when you should finally get over your third-grade wonder at seeing your instructors outside of the classroom - "But Mrs. Anderson can't be at the movies, she's a teacher!" - and get to know them as people. They can be pretty nice folks. Stop by office hours just to chat. Everyone is too intimidated or lazy to visit professors in the beginning of the semester. Visit them - it will benefit you both.
See, do, conquer, and don't forget to procure some sort of gainful employment, as your parents will be mighty disgruntled if you move in with them after you graduate. Most importantly, take the path of least regret: Live your four years here so that you can look back on them and feel that you didn't miss out on anything.
And do take lots of pictures, so you don't forget.
(Laura Sahramaa is a Cavalier Daily columnist.)
Read More
BURSTEIN: Federal workforce cuts target Virginia — and Youngkin’s ressponse falls short
By Carly Burstein | 21 hours agoForcing employees to choose between uprooting their families or losing their livelihoods is not just callous — it is economically reckless.
HUYNH: Virginia’s proposed ‘whippets’ law is laughable
By Viet Huynh | YesterdayAs people continue to be harmed by nitrous oxide abuse, Virginians will see this new law as the ineffective, ultimately harmful policy that it is.
EDITORIAL: We can demand more of our university presidents
By Editorial Board | 2 days agoWe hope for greater transparency because for the principles of solidarity in this statement to be enacted and effective, stakeholders must be treated as partners in resistance.
