2008 Woodie Awards
Issue: Should freshmen be isolated at The Commons next year?
Kelly Swope
Issue date: 10/2/07 Section: Issues
- Page 1 of 1
Whining, pouting, ranting: whatever you call it, the activity unifies first-year students. Nothing satisfies like a good rip into a professor or a disparaging comment about the Rand Dining Hall food. Negativity is an excellent conversation starter for lonely new students.
Cynical and spoiled, Lady Negativity leads us down an unending path of wondrous dissatisfaction. The beautiful trees, the authentic collegiate atmosphere and the aging architecture can only make us happy until pessimism brings us back to its petty roots. Though we Freshmen are hard-pressed to pinpoint the exact cause of our troubles, we know something must be terribly awry with our school. Specifically, that burdensome freshman initiation we call Vanderbilt Visions.
And yet, if we are honest, Visions actually alleviates our first-year problems. Imagine if fall classes began a day or two after Move-In. For only 24 invigorating hours, the dormitories would be bustling epicenters of social acclimation and activity. Then, as the reality of classes set in, we would be left friendless and hapless, pitifully poring over Vanderbilt's famously rigorous homework assignments. Chemistry books cracked open, calculus notes running off the page, freshmen would wonder sadly, "Why did I have to come here?"
Vanderbilt Visions, along with freshman-only dorms, keep this very solve this very problem. Without this forced socialization, the quantity of people we meet would greatly decrease, decreasing our chances of finding meaningful relationships in college. Freshman housing allows us to meet others with similar concerns, similar interests and quite frankly, a similar naivete. The innocence of freshness is itself a uniting factor. Vanderbilt acknowledges this truth and thus conscientiously guides new students through the acclimation process. Though at times it feels like a curse, it is in many ways a blessing.
This issue of freshman acclimation becomes especially pertinent in the case of The Commons. Enough has been said already about The Commons. The geographical isolation that it will bring to the Class of 2012 is its most criticized aspect. This annoys the Class of 2011 in particular; but most of our reasons come back to pure jealousy: we want those swanky new dorms, and we cannot have them. Yet it is important to remember that with the construction of any new facility on any college campus, there is always a graduating class who misses the luxury by one painful year. This time it just happens to be us, the Class of 2011.
Freshman orientation does not destroy anyone's chances for social networking in college; if anything, it magnifies the odds. If you want to join one of the over 300 campus organizations, which provide ample opportunities to meet and befriend upperclassmen, bring with you a new freshman friend or an acquaintance to lighten the pressure of being introduced to so many new faces. Forming freshman cliques and self-isolation are choices here at Vanderbilt. If you cannot find older students, stop moping and just go talk to the ones in your classes. Bring a freshman friend, if need be. Freshman grouping is not meant to isolate; it is meant to help you flourish.
That said, we will still complain. We are freshmen - that is what we do. But before we bite another vicious chunk out of the heart of Vanderbilt Visions, let us consider that our freshman experience is not orchestrated by the administration. It is ours to shape, fully.
Cynical and spoiled, Lady Negativity leads us down an unending path of wondrous dissatisfaction. The beautiful trees, the authentic collegiate atmosphere and the aging architecture can only make us happy until pessimism brings us back to its petty roots. Though we Freshmen are hard-pressed to pinpoint the exact cause of our troubles, we know something must be terribly awry with our school. Specifically, that burdensome freshman initiation we call Vanderbilt Visions.
And yet, if we are honest, Visions actually alleviates our first-year problems. Imagine if fall classes began a day or two after Move-In. For only 24 invigorating hours, the dormitories would be bustling epicenters of social acclimation and activity. Then, as the reality of classes set in, we would be left friendless and hapless, pitifully poring over Vanderbilt's famously rigorous homework assignments. Chemistry books cracked open, calculus notes running off the page, freshmen would wonder sadly, "Why did I have to come here?"
Vanderbilt Visions, along with freshman-only dorms, keep this very solve this very problem. Without this forced socialization, the quantity of people we meet would greatly decrease, decreasing our chances of finding meaningful relationships in college. Freshman housing allows us to meet others with similar concerns, similar interests and quite frankly, a similar naivete. The innocence of freshness is itself a uniting factor. Vanderbilt acknowledges this truth and thus conscientiously guides new students through the acclimation process. Though at times it feels like a curse, it is in many ways a blessing.
This issue of freshman acclimation becomes especially pertinent in the case of The Commons. Enough has been said already about The Commons. The geographical isolation that it will bring to the Class of 2012 is its most criticized aspect. This annoys the Class of 2011 in particular; but most of our reasons come back to pure jealousy: we want those swanky new dorms, and we cannot have them. Yet it is important to remember that with the construction of any new facility on any college campus, there is always a graduating class who misses the luxury by one painful year. This time it just happens to be us, the Class of 2011.
Freshman orientation does not destroy anyone's chances for social networking in college; if anything, it magnifies the odds. If you want to join one of the over 300 campus organizations, which provide ample opportunities to meet and befriend upperclassmen, bring with you a new freshman friend or an acquaintance to lighten the pressure of being introduced to so many new faces. Forming freshman cliques and self-isolation are choices here at Vanderbilt. If you cannot find older students, stop moping and just go talk to the ones in your classes. Bring a freshman friend, if need be. Freshman grouping is not meant to isolate; it is meant to help you flourish.
That said, we will still complain. We are freshmen - that is what we do. But before we bite another vicious chunk out of the heart of Vanderbilt Visions, let us consider that our freshman experience is not orchestrated by the administration. It is ours to shape, fully.
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