Well, it has happened again, our tilted hemisphere is leaning away from the sun and school is coming once more to haunt or bless us. As long lazy days drift into dreary autumn and empty summer sidewalks fill back up with swarms of students, it’s time to go over a short refresher of do’s and don’ts for the school year.
Cy Whitling | Argonaut
Don’t:
Hit on the teaching assistant. TA’s are for teaching, not flirting.
Don’t:
Buy all your books before school starts. This one is controversial. If your parents are buying your books, sure go for it. If not, I recommend waiting. A lot of teachers have copies put on reserve in the library or don’t use the book at all. Go to your first day of class and figure out if you really need the book, then go and order the important ones. In the meantime, your new friends who are not TA’s can help.
Don’t:
Trust Moscow weather at all, ever. I realize you just got back from more predictable parts of the planet. All that means is your skills have been dulled and your senses weakened. Moscow likes to lull innocent freshman into security and then puke snow on them. Don’t be a victim.
Don’t:
Sit in the front row. This one goes directly against my editor, so if you are seeing it in print celebrate this triumph of free speech. Look at the numbers. Not everyone can sit in the front row. Sure, sitting in the front is good, but only because it implies you will pay attention. Teachers know this, which actually makes the front row one of the best places to sleep. Don’t worry about where you sit, worry about how much you are getting from the class.
Shane Wellner | Argonaut
Don’t:
Skip class. Contrary to popular belief, college is not like a job. At a job you are being paid to go to work. At school, you are paying to go. And when you skip class you are not just hurting yourself academically, you’re also losing money. Not a good combination.
Try to think of school like a swiftly melting ice cream cone. You paid for it, and every drop that slips away is pleasure lost. Attack school aggressively and use your tongue to lap up every last drop.
Do:
Bring supplies to the first day of class. As your mother probably told you, first impressions matter. You want to be the kid lending other people paper, not a leach from the very start.
Do:
Make friends. Friends are a good thing. They lend you paper. They let you borrow their book. Really good friends might even lend you a pencil. How much better can it get?
Do:
Get involved. Boom! Cliché of the day! It’s true though. Being involved means being busy, it means having friends who mean more than a borrowed pencil. It means connections, relationships and experiences that have the potential to change your life. Boom! Second cliché. But seriously, college is crazy, if it doesn’t change your life then something is probably wrong with you, or you just go to BSU.
Cy Whitling can be reached at[email protected]