Here we are, a scant five months removed from arriving on campus bright eyed and bushy-tailed, full of life and ready to tackle a brand new semester. So what happened?
If you’re anything like me, the new term smell wore off after about four days, leaving in its place the foul odor of assignments beginning to pile up under the August sun.
For some of you out there, this marks the end of your first ever semester in college. You are to be congratulated for making it this far. Also, I’d like to offer my apology on behalf of reality for all of the movies that had you expecting entirely too much from life after high school. I’ve only worn one toga during the course of my five years of higher education and its been my experience that the real Van Wilders are all crazed weirdos who are only out to sell you whatever drug is trendiest at the time or charge you five bucks for the right to clutch a red Solo cup while standing awkwardly in their unfurnished, dimly lit basement.
Once the shine fades, college is pretty much exactly the same thing as high school, except you have to walk further to get to your classes and half of your teachers don’t know you exist.
As far as fall terms go, this one was pretty big. Usually WCU likes to wait until spring to let its hair down— it’s on the school crest I think— but not this year! No sir! WCU kicked off its collective shoes to celebrate the inauguration of one Dr. Greg Weisenstein as our new president, retro active to last March when he actually assumed the throne. There was music, food, I can only assume dancing, and so much more.
Two new dorms opened their doors for the first time and are they pretty looking or what? And the geo-thermal power that heats them? I guess saving the planet was worth not having basketball and tennis courts on the corner of New and Rosedale… I guess. I mean, I REALLY like tennis.
This term wasn’t all green technology and professors in silly robes, but back to me for a second, because if there is one thing I love talking about, it’s me. This term was quite the experience for me after being giving the opportunity to be Editor of The Quad. Sure, there was no lavish barbeque thrown for me, but I did spend most of my first week on the job wearing a silly robe under my usual clothes. Keep that last bit on the down low, won’t you?
I learned a lot about how to do this job over the last few months, sadly most of it came only after I made a mistake and boy did I make mistakes! I’ve been told its all part of the growing process and I am looking to limit myself to just THREE throughout the entirety of the Spring term (while typing that last sentence, I called it the Winter term. I guess I’m down to TWO. drats). I did gain an even higher level of respect for those individuals who did this job so well before I got here and managed to ruin everything.
Switching gears completely, I think that the story that most of us will remember from Fall ’09 is the tragic passing of Selene Raynor. During the 2007-2008 year, I lived on the 5th floor of Sanderson Hall with Selene as my R.A. That floor has since gone down in the R.A. record books as the “Worst Collection of Residents Ever.” The kids on that floor were savage monsters, running the halls at all hours, lighting wine boxes on fire in the bathroom after they’d finished “dancing with Mary Jane” in it. That floor was a nightmare from the word go, so naturally WCU decided that having two R.A.’s on the job was too much and they moved one down to another floor, leaving Selene as the only guard left in the asylum.
Selene had the worst job on the entire campus, but she always seemed to be up beat and did her best to control an uncontrollable crowd. I can’t even imagine what I would have done in her shoes. I know I wouldn’t have lasted the full year. I can promise that. I don’t think many people could, but she soldiered through and for that I will never forget her. It took a special kind of person to do that job and Selene broke the mold.
Alright well I’ve kept you here long enough and the term is not actually even over yet. We still have finals week to contend with. And after that, a glorious month of blissful nothingness. I can’t wait. Happy Holidays, stay safe and best of luck on the aforementioned finals. See you in January, WCU.