Changes

Written by Mariecrese Villacampa

            As all of us start down the road of undergraduate enlightenment, most of us are thoroughly enjoying the newfound freedom that comes attached to our recently acquired title of the college student.  And what is it exactly that accounts for the freedom we're learning to relish in?  Simply put, college means "change."  Responsibility is no longer a matter left to the administrators or the school district.  We have been handed the torch and it is now up to us make all the decisions.  While many parallels can be found between high school and college, there are far more differences than there are similarities.  And we've all got to learn how to deal with them.

Riverside Hall and Lassen Hall

So, what's changed?

            A major issue of change concerning all new incoming freshmen is: time.  The fact is, college is set up to leave the responsibilities of scheduling and time managing solely to us.  In high school we were given our schedules and had very little say in the matter.  We were assigned the courses we needed to take in order to graduate and we were forced to sit for them between 8 and 3, and 8 and 3 only.  But in college we're free to take classes early in the morning or late in the afternoon.  We can choose to have classes everyday or ever other day.  And going further, even if we've scheduled to have a class at 9 in the morning, most Professors won't come after  you for missing class!  (Yeah I know...it's magnificent.) 

            College is structured to allow us to make our own decisions regarding what we could be doing with our time. (Whether or not we're supposed to be in class.)  And remember, no matter if we choose to attend or skip class we don't have to fear severe high school-esq. repercussions.   After all it was it was our decision.  And being given that choice is the second major difference between high school and college.  And we've all had to take time to become accustomed to both.

University Union

Now, what to do with all that time?

            With classes only scheduled, for the most part, for only a couple of hours each day (unlike the excruciatingly long 6 or 7 hours we were forced to endure in high school) the rest of our time is left wide open for opportunities.  (Some of us are every lucky enough to only have classes every other day!)

            Running with the assumption that most freshmen only have 3 to 4 hours of class each day (and that's discounting evil days), all of us have been affected by the fact that we are not forced to be in class everyday for upwards of 7 hours.  And it helps more to know that we're not being contained on campus by pesky hall monitors, teachers or administrators.  Such a reduction in required hours spent "learning" is what makes the issue of time such a major one. 

            And how are we dealing with said issue?  I'd like to say that all of us are spending our free time in the library hidden behind piles of books and stacks of paper busily rewriting our lecture notes and preparing for the next class...

            hahahahahahaha.  NOT.  I mean, come on, when deciding between having a laughter-filled lunch with friends and studying, I'd have to say the choice is a given.  Now, now...some of us do like to spend at least some of our free time before, in between, or after class to study or catch up on notes and homework, but I think it's fair to assume that most of us just enjoy the option of being able to hang with our friends and make news ones.

            Speaking to my fellow freshmen I've learned about the wide variety of activities that are popular among the students and provide a wonderful break from all the "studying" I'm sure we do...sometimes.  The top choice of activities for many students is good clean fun spent with old and new friends.  Time spent talking and laughing it up in the Union or over a quick snack.  So what else is there to do?  Many students spend time in the Game Room located in the University Union or in their dormitory recreational rooms playing arcade games or trying to perfect their billiard balls skills.  Others still, relax with a good book or lounge about anywhere comfortable to catch up on some shut-eye.

            But (You knew there had to be a downside to all this.) beyond the initial joy at the discovery that we have so much free time, it is important for all new students to learn that the reason we have the decision to leave spaces of time open in our schedules is because we do need that time to devote entirely to our school work. 

 University Union and Mendocino Hall

And how are we dealing with all the responsibility?

            As evidenced by the responses I gathered from my fellow freshmen and from personal experience, it's obvious that it takes some time before incoming freshmen learn how to deal with the freedom to choose how to manage our time.  It takes time for all freshmen to understand that while being allowed to make our own decisions has come to mean more time for us it also means that we've got to make sure we use that time wisely.  (So don't feel bad if it's the last month of the semester and you've just realized that you've got so much work due way too soon.   We've all been there.)

            As I've said before, while it's all fine and dandy to take some time off and enjoy yourself, it's important for all students to learn that it's important to balance all that fun with some serious study time.  As a college student we've been allowed to make choices that we were not permitted to make in high school. 

            Many students deal with the responsibility by going to older students or Professors and asking for advice.  And more often than not they turn to more experienced members of the university community at the last minute.  When they start feeling the stress really start building up. 

            When asked how they dealt with the shift in responsibility many of my fellow freshmen responded with candid stories that had a tendency to start with pleasantly lazy days at school and end with frantic study sessions.  But more importantly, they made sure to make it clear that they had learned from the experience.  For those of us who had started off believing that being in charge meant that we could do what we wanted because there was no one to tell us otherwise, we've learned the importance of taking responsibility seriously.  Freshmen learn that it is vital that we understand that we must take advantage of the more time with have in college spent out of class. 

Library and Amador Hall

Growing up...

            This whole being in charge and taking responsibility of showing up for the classes I'm scheduled for, has made me feel grown up...or at least nearly grown up-even if I'm far from it.

            With the expectations being that we'll take care of things all on our own, we are thrust many new responsibilities.  While college does have it's pluses, we now all must learn that we can't just spend all our free time goofing off just because there is not going to be someone tapping your shoulder and asking, "Shouldn't you be in class?"  We need to fully comprehend the other things that come attached to our 'college student' title.  All first time college freshman must now, step up to the plate and carry a very important reminder with the m everywhere: It is immensely important to devote time to school.  And why should we carry this with us in our heads at all times?  Because there's not going to be anyone to remind you.

            For the time being though, we're free or at least very nearly free to do what we please regarding school because while being a freshman in college means that it's up to us to make our own decisions, it also means that we still have time to learn to make the right ones.  We need to decide what we want to do with our classes, our study habits, attendance habits, and friends because once we get our of her we're not going to be very nearly free but we're going to be completely on our own.