As the year winds down, we all reflect on how much we have changed since its beginning. If you're a fourth-year student, your memories are a little more loaded.
In honor of the University's upcoming publicity stunt known formally as Days on the Lawn, I have decided to write a brief message to the prospective members of the class of 2014.
Last Saturday night, I walked into John Paul Jones Arena at the tender age of 19, dressed to kill in a sundress and boots, living it up with my girls all around me - oops, that's a Miley song.
My gift to you today is a lesson in financial self-sufficiency from someone completely dependent on parents.
Entering college is a difficult transition for everyone. A number of big fish from the small ponds of the world are transplanted to this moderately-sized estuary in the middle of Central Virginia, and, as any biology professor will tell you, there are simply not enough resources to go around. And so they must be rationed.
Freezing temperatures, fresh classes and formal sorority recruitment marked the beginning of the spring semester for 794 first-year girls at the University. Within the week, many girls became members of Greek sisterhoods that will mark their social lives, and T-shirt collections, for the next four years. But what about the rushees who did not join a sorority? "While we hope that every woman who participates in Recruitment will find her ideal match, and we believe she is very likely to given the depth and breadth of our community, it ultimately is a personal decision as to whether or not a woman decides to join a chapter," said Chelsey Iaquinto, the Inter-Sorority Council's vice president for recruitment, in an e-mail. Although Iaquinto explained that it was uncommon for girls to withdraw from rush, many students do not go through with it or do not complete the process every year.
A new year usually brings analysis of the past year's trends and predictions of what will define the coming year.
"What do a University student and a Virginia Tech student have in common?" My friend inquired this last Saturday as we walked to the final football game of the season.
As I was quickly reminded as I showed a prospective students around Grounds last weekend, the idea of the "typical college experience" is a prominent fantasy in the minds of high school students.
Last Tuesday, Americans all over the country held their breath as Virginians went to the polls to elect their next governor.
