Student Life Archives

At this point in your life, you’re receiving lots of practical advice about honing your expectations as well as perfecting both your studying and partying skills. I’m sure people will throw around plenty of different opinions about how many extra-curricular activities you should be involved in, what majors make the most sense and whether or not it’s possible to stay with your high school boyfriend or girlfriend. And while taking in and considering all of these issues is important, I think it’s incredibly easy to lose track of your dreams during the process. This is why my advice is simply to wish. Wish on stars, wish at both 11:11s and wish before you go to sleep.

College will be an experience of practicalities-you need to study, do your own laundry, take care of your expenses, register for classes and keep appointments with your advisers. You cannot have your head in the clouds. But at the same time, if you only keep your feet firmly planted on the ground, you will not achieve at your highest ability or have the experiences that will affect you the most. A practical major, practical courses, practical relationship moves, practical future plans and attempting to gain only practical and likely summer internships will close you off to the opportunities that give you a shot at making your dreams come true.

You’re about to start college, so I’m sure people having been telling you that this is your chance to do anything. Listen to them. A lot of times we feel like we have set limits in life when we are completely capable of exceeding them. Before you start college and as you continue the experience, keep looking deep within yourself. Is your impossible dream attending John Hopkins Medical School? Do you have a real interest in an obscure field that has limited job opportunities? Do you want to keep dating your high school sweetheart? You need to ask yourself these questions every now and then instead of focusing exclusively on the type of questions we ask more often, which are something along the lines of: Where do I think I’ll be able to attend medical school? What classes make the most sense for me to take in order to have a well-established, safe profession? What are the odds of this relationship working out? The practical questions are certainly important, but please don’t let them set the limits of your college experience. Doing this will only be a disservice to yourself and to our society.

Right now, you likely can do almost anything with your life. And if you set out to achieve your dreams rather than simply achieving something practical, if you take the crazy-sounding course that you’re interested in, keep working on that novel in between homework assignments, and seriously aim to attend the top graduate schools in the country, you’ll end up doing something you never thought possible. Instead of focusing on what you have to do to not fail out of college and to keep a balanced resume, focus on all of the things you could do if you had limitless intelligence, ability and charisma. If you always go after opportunities that seem impossible and impractical, every now and then one of those amazing opportunities will work out and you’ll be setting yourself up practically for the future you once only wished you could achieve.

Jill Strominger is a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences and Senior Forum Editor. She can be reached by e-mail at [email protected].

MCT

Contrary to popular belief, Barack Obama is not the only one dreaming of change. But being a college student doesn’t magically change everything. Sure, the Quad is neatly landscaped, the floors are polished, and the Swamp is resodded-a few things have changed in preparation for the entrance of the Class of 2012. Don’t worry; the focus won’t be on you for too long. About two weeks from the first day of class, the first prospective students for next year’s class begin to visit.

There is so much hype surrounding your trip to college, that mystical place away from home where you can finally run your own life, without your parents nagging you to get out of bed before 2 p.m. on a Saturday. However, don’t be fooled by your anticipation and instinctual nervousness. These things too will become normal. There are of course the things happening on campus that only happen in college. You will stay up until 7 a.m., working on that paper, only to then fall into bed and sleep through the class in which you were supposed to turn it in (personal freshman year experience). As time passes, though, you fall into the normal routine of “the college lifestyle.” And this will be the lifestyle of your choosing.

It is a dream to think that Wash. U. will completely transform your ways of living, your old habits, or your entire personality. Sure, things will change, but only those things you allow. Wash. U. states that its mission for undergrads is “to prepare students with the attitudes, skills and habits of lifelong learning and with leadership skills, enabling them to be useful members of a global society.” Notice the lacking mandate of transformation. School is only here to “prepare” us. The way of college is one of self-determination. You will become what you make yourself to be.

So, I extend to you the best welcoming advice that I can give: take full advantage of the opportunity to live your life as you want it. The architecture of a long-established university (Collegiate Gothic, according to our Web site) mocks the mission of change undertaken by the resident institution and its students. Appearances and landscaping are only parts of the hoax that tells us that we must fit into a college stereotype. Find your own unique freedom here, in spite of what preconceptions you may carry. There will possibly be moments that will terrify you, in which you can’t necessarily handle the new independence you’ve gained. But this freedom is what we’ve come to, what we’ve craved for so long that we get jittery inside thinking about it.

Get active in the things you want to be, ignore the temptation to avoid your desires so that you don’t appear to be a total loser, and enjoy every minute of the experience. These times only come once. Don’t anticipate an earth-shattering time if you intend to go about college life passively. Enjoy meeting new people, but don’t put pressure into it. The incredible thing about this place is that it is one of multiple chances to make the necessary changes and to constantly reconsider yourself. But then again, this is the grand opportunity given to us every day of our lives. Make the most of each moment for no one but yourself. This is not about impressing anyone, but all about getting the most out of everything. So here’s to Ulysses and drinking life to the lees.

Tyler Peck is a senior in Arts & Sciences and can be reached by e-mail at [email protected].

Sam Guzik

As incoming freshmen, you have been and will be faced with a number of important, tough decisions over the course of the summer and fall. Which meal plan should you sign up for? Do you want to live in a single or double? Old dorm or new dorm? Which student groups do you want to join? Do you want to play Intramural sports for your floor? Are you going to stay pre-med? Oh.and who do you want to be the next President of the United States?

When you arrive on campus, there will be so much for you to do. There will be people to meet, papers to write and activities to attend. While immersed in this transition, it may be difficult to keep in mind what is happening outside of the walls of our university home. However, it is of the utmost importance that you tune out your floor gossip and tune in to the national news at least once and a while.

On November 4 every American faces an important decision, perhaps the most important: Who should you vote for to lead this great nation into the future?

Staying informed, however, is only half the battle. The other half is registering to vote before the deadline (October 8 in Missouri), and getting to the polls on Election Day (November 4). Doing both requires effort on your part, as with anything worthwhile.

The University stands prepared to make the voting process as simple and painless as possible. During orientation and throughout the first month of school, there will be a bevy of opportunities for you to register to vote. There will be registration tables near the clocktower (you’ll quickly figure out where that is if you don’t know already) during move-in day, scattered around campus on September 18 (the University’s official voter registration day), and at most of the politically-inclined events held on campus throughout early October. And this year, the polling location for residents of the South 40 (where most of you will live) will be on the South 40 itself, down the hall from Bear’s Den, where you will eat the majority of your meals. On Election Day, grab lunch with your friends and then vote for dessert.

By listing these opportunities I hope to impress upon you how easy it will be to register, and how difficult avoiding it will be. Nevertheless, the whole process hinges on you. As citizens and/or visitors to this nation, you have both rights and responsibilities. With freedom comes responsibility, and one of your responsibilities is to make your voice heard.

Make it heard through activism, protest and debate. But most of all, use your voice at the polls on November 4. Whether your candidate wins or loses, you’ll know that you contributed to our great democracy.

So don’t dodge the process. When you have the opportunity to register, do it. When you have an opinion about an issue, voice it. And on November 4th, drop those issues that will dominate our school and social lives in the fall and take your stand on a choice that will shape our lives for the next four years and beyond. VOTE.

Jordan Aibel is a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences. He can be reached by e-mail at [email protected].

Sam Guzik

Welcome to Wash. U. Now get ready to leave. Come here, get comfortable, but don’t get complacent. Don’t get me wrong, Wash. U. is great. Savor your first couple of years here. Go to Bear’s Den at 2 a.m., read out on the hammocks, pull all-nighters, make good friends, figure out what you want, expand your mind. And then go abroad. Study abroad is an opportunity, so if there is any way you can wrangle your schedule so you can go, do it, seize it. When else in your life can you just take off for some place you never even thought you’d go, call it home for five or six months, and still be (kind of) a responsible human being?

Ok, I’m biased. I’m writing this article from my beat up sofa in New Zealand. I’ve been here for about five months-finals are next week. But guess what I did last weekend? Saturday, I rented a car with a few friends and drove through the North Island countryside to the Waitomo Caves. Upon arrival, we wriggled our way into wetsuits, put on our headlamps, and selected suitable sized innertubes. We carefully crawled and slid through a hole in the ground-the entrance to the caves. It was completely black inside, and we used our innertubes to float down the river that courses through the caves. Occasionally we jumped off waterfalls. All along the walls and ceiling were the green-blue lights of thousands of tiny glowworms. And Sunday, we headed up to the famous beaches of the Coromandel where we snorkeled along an underwater trail. Oh, and Thursday I took a ferry over to Tiritiri Matangi, a bird reserve off the coast of Auckland. I saw an Orca whale and little blue penguins. Today I should study, but I’m thinking about a trip to the aquarium first.

Studying abroad has been an amazing experience. Not that it’s always been easy. I had a lot of ambivalence about going abroad-I love Wash. U., I love my friends, I enjoy my classes and one semester out of eight can feel like a lot to give up. And while being abroad is incredible, it can also feel isolating, stressful and downright exhausting. But it’s worth it. It’s so worth it. My time here has been important in ways I wasn’t expecting. I expected to meet people from all over the world, be adventurous, travel, see beautiful places, climb a glacier. I didn’t expect that being here, having time to be by myself and being forced to forge my own way would have such a profound effect on me.

Wash. U. is an intense environment. They’ll have you going so fast and so hard that you’ll forget to step back and take a look at yourself. Being abroad has given me a chance to process myself in a new and exotic context. I’ve had time to get to know myself here (as sappy as that may sound). I can’t tell you how much I’ve valued this whole bizarre experience. And did you know that they don’t refrigerate their eggs in New Zealand? And they say “sweet as” all the time? And the grocery store is called “foodtown”? I didn’t know-now I do.

So, think about studying abroad in your junior year. Plan ahead and arrange your schedule so that you are able to go. Start imagining places you’d like to experience, places you wouldn’t mind calling “home” for five or six months. I had friends this semester in Morocco, Australia, Vietnam, South Africa, Brazil, Israel, Scotland and Bolivia. Pick somewhere and go. Don’t get too bogged down by major requirements, double major requirements and those dumb clusters to leave the country for a semester. Plan ahead and get excited. And enjoy Wash. U. Have a great freshman year.

Tess Croner is a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences and a forum editor. She can be reached by e-mail at [email protected].

I’d like to extend a warm welcome to the incoming class of pre-meds-oh excuse me, freshmen. I know, I know, not all of you are pre-meds, and I’ll have more to say to the others. But more of you will start as pre-meds than anything else by far, and many of you are making a mistake.

Not that the pre-med path isn’t worthwhile-it’s just not for everyone. Many students are not sure about what they want to do, and medicine just seems like a good idea. Doctors are well-paid and well-respected, and (so far at least) we can’t outsource our ophthalmologists to Bangalore.

Most frequently, these students say that their goal is to help people. However, there are many effective ways to help people besides medicine, and it takes more than this desire to succeed as a doctor. It’s not only that it’s difficult (which it is without a doubt)-you must also have more specific interests than being a useful member of society. In particular, you have to be able to enjoy (or at least tolerate) organic chemistry, genetics and physiology. Many students may find themselves better suited to be social workers, lawyers, teachers or economists.

But enough about the trials and tribulations of pre-medical studies. I’m here to encourage all of you, not just pre-meds, to be flexible, curious and open-minded about your courses and majors.

There are far more majors at Wash. U. than anyone can realistically hope to try out. Still, you should do your best to sample the ones that could interest you. There are surely at least a few majors which you are able to rule out right off the bat (many people are quite sure that they don’t want to major in math!), but other majors are more difficult to assess unless you’ve taken a course or two within them. So cast a wide net during your freshman year, and don’t worry about specializing this early in the game.

There is, however, more to the process of self-discovery than deliberately diversifying your choice of courses-your state of mind is important too. Even if you end up in the course that could change your life, the significance could be lost if you don’t give it a chance.

Some may think this isn’t so important-after all, if you end up in a course you love, shouldn’t it take a hold of you no matter what? It’s not always this simple, however.

I recently changed my major to philosophy during my eighth(!) semester (I’m going to be a second-year senior), even though I had taken some philosophy courses several semesters earlier. Why didn’t I declare philosophy sooner? It’s complicated, but a big part of the problem was that I was unwilling to seriously consider it. During one of those courses, the professor asked me why I wasn’t a philosophy major. Even though I didn’t have a good answer to him at the time (something like “I’m not smart enough”), it still took me until the second semester of my senior year to finally go for it.

Now, maybe I’m uniquely inept at knowing myself (ironic for a philosophy major), but I suspect that others have similar attitudes towards some majors, quite possibly because students are worried about their job prospects, and hold in their minds at all times the common skeptical query, “What are you going to do with a major in X?” These worries are generally misguided.

For most career paths, your major choice is unimportant. There are exceptions of course-it would be tough to be a theoretical physicist if you’ve taken only English courses-but most employers aren’t looking for any specific knowledge. They just want to find smart graduates who can communicate, write and think effectively, and most majors can be used to gain these skills. I know English majors who have gone into consulting, philosophy majors who have gone on to be Web programmers, and biology majors who have gone into business. So choose something you enjoy. The jobs will still be there, I promise.

Finally, don’t be afraid to change the major you’ve chosen. No one likes to feel like they’ve been wrong, but its better to find out sooner rather than later. And along the way, after changing your major three times, you might find that you’ve become a more educated person.

Bill Hoffman is a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences and a forum editor. He can be reached by e-mail at [email protected].

Many people will tell you, “College is the best four years of your life.” Do not listen to these people. Kick them. Challenge them to a duel. Tell them to stop propagating that B.S.

Because that is what it is: B.S. Not because college is not fantastic. Not because some of your most vivid memories will not be made in this place. Not because you will not learn more than you ever thought you wanted to know, nor because you will not mature quantitatively more than at any other point in your life.

No, not for these reasons, because they in fact all WILL be, exasperatingly, the case. College is fan-freaking-tastic. But the “College is the best four years of your life” mantra is terrible advice, for three reasons.

The first is that a large number of the people giving you this advice (i.e. the other people’s columns that you have read and will shortly be reading) have not even lived past college. What do they know?

The second reason we ought to discard this junky advice is that it encourages an attitude totally devoid of the consideration that there even exists life after college. Whether it is getting really drunk and falling out of a window (yes) or writing a tasteless letter to Student Life that you later try to get removed from the Web site so you can actually get a job (sorry), your actions do, periodically, have consequences.

The third reason to dump this painful cliché is the point from which I will begin my actual, concrete advice (and this relates to point numero dos): you must think (actively and decisively) about life after college. For the love of all things both sacred and not: think about what you want to happen when you are done here.

This sounds initially discouraging, I know, and more, not fun. If you approach it the wrong way, it will be. The wrong way to approach this advice consists of ruining your college experience in order to work toward a successful post-college life. Be very careful of this.

The right way to approach this advice is, rather than to conform your college experience to your ideal post-college career and life (as the mistaken person does), instead conform your ideal post-college career and life to your college experience. What do you love about being here? Do that, and do it after you leave too.

The reason mature adults tell you that “college is the best four years of your life” is because they savored the college experience but did not have the foresight to come up with a way to extend that joy into a career or into a life. They tell you these are the “best four years”-and you (if you follow in their footsteps) will tell it to kids when you are an adult too-only because you yourself believed it when they you in college.

But you, with a couple extra generations of experience (and my help), know that you can both savor college and use it as a time to find something (and DECIDE on it, which is often the step that gets missed) that you want to do afterwards. The last thing you want to do, I believe, is sit in an office staring at a fluorescent computer screen, in “business-casual” attire, in a “good” job, one year after college or ten or thirty years after, wondering, “What the hell am I doing here?”

If that is where you end up, don’t just “end up” there. GO there, consciously. College is your opportunity to figure out why working in an office will suck. (Or why it will rock.)

“College is the best four years of your life” will only be true if you believe it. Now is the time to stop doing so. Your whole LIFE is going to be fan-freaking-tastic. Seize college’s joy, but make it the beginning of the rest of your life.

Dennis Sweeney is a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences and a forum editor. He can be reached by e-mail at [email protected].

Let me be among the many to welcome you to St. Louis and to Washington University! Very soon we will be welcoming you in person as the newest members of our Wash. U. community. You’re coming at a very exciting time. However, if I’m perfectly honest with myself, I think each year has been very exciting.this year is just more so with a couple of new twists.

First, you’ll get here in time for the opening of the new Danforth University Center, and I hope this will become your second home after your residential college. Second, the presidential campaign season is only beginning, and come October 2 at 8 p.m., Wash. U. will be hosting the vice presidential debate right in our very own Athletic Complex. You’ll have the opportunity to apply to be a volunteer for this event and you’ll be able to put your name in a lottery for any debate tickets that we may receive from the Commission on Presidential Debates.

We want and need you, now more than ever, to get involved. Make connections, find your niche and give and receive during your time here. As assistant vice chancellor for students and the director of campus life, the areas I work most closely with focus on involvement, service, and leadership-primarily outside of the classroom. More importantly, my colleagues and I want to create a seamless living/learning environment. I work with many folks who have adopted the following mission: To build and sustain an undergraduate experience of exceptional quality where students, who are known by name and story, prepare themselves for lives of purpose and meaning. We’re here to assist you.

I know everyone from your parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, high school counselors, friends and even strangers you meet as you shop for extra-long fitted sheets are more than willing and ready to give you advice as you plan your trek to St. Louis. I am no exception. I can’t resist the urge because I, like others who care about you, want all your adjustments to be smooth and relatively painless. As I begin my twelfth year, I am still amazed at the role students play in making this a great place to live, learn and work.

Here’s my top ten list for becoming a part of the community and leaving your mark on this campus. Some may not make sense until you arrive.

1) Introduce yourself to at least two new people each day; start early to adopt this habit. Ask someone to share a meal with you; don’t be shy.

2) Do not pass “GO,” do not call home before getting your academic life in order. Get to know your academic advisor, resident advisor and all others who offer assistance. All of them can become resources and support for you.

3) Once you’re satisfied with your class schedule and have gone to your first classes, get in the habit of finding a quiet, comfortable place to study. I strongly advise that you visit Cornerstone, the Center for Advanced Learning.

4) Attend all Orientation sessions. You’ll learn lots, meet others and have fun along the way. Don’t miss “SUp All Night” on August 24-to be explained at a later date.

5) Don’t forget, Orientation does not stop when classes begin. A group of students and staff are already planning events and activities to keep you busy during “your first 40 days and 40 nights” here; you’ll also learn more about this once you arrive.

6) Sign-up for Service First. It’s a day of service in the St. Louis Public Schools, only open to new students, taking place the Saturday of Labor Day Weekend-August 30. You’ll have fun volunteering with classmates at one of the public schools and attending a BBQ and community service fair.

7) Get off campus-you don’t need a car. Shopping malls, movie theaters, grocery stores and restaurants are readily available via the MetroLink, not to mention what’s within walking distance-the Loop and all that Forest Park contains.

8) Be sure and stop by the Activities Fair on Wednesday, September 3 from 4:30-6:30 p.m. in Brookings Quad. The majority of student organizations will have tables and will be recruiting new members. They want you!

9) Take care of your health. That includes SLEEP. Too many students think they will catch up on their sleep during Fall Break or Thanksgiving. Your body simply doesn’t work that way, no matter how hard you try.

10) Finally, take a deep breath, enjoy yourself and savor all of the newness of attending Wash. U. and having the chance to leave your mark on this place. Be confident of your choice; and remember, we want you to succeed.

If there is any way I can be of assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact me: [email protected] or 314.935.5022. See you soon!

Jill Carnaghi is vice-chancellor for students. She can be reached by e-mail at [email protected].

Freshman year was when I decided to take the initiative to do absolutely nothing. Gone were those years of high school filled with nonstop sports and clubs, those constant appointments to be met. During my first year at college, I firmly decided that I was going to free myself from all of the hassles and commitments I had grown so accustomed to and simply revel in a lifestyle I would never have the opportunity to enjoy again.

This break from stressing factors and distractions also critically required me to severe all ties to home. Sure, I had no problem making the occasional call every week or so, which was about all I could handle, but apparently, according to my parents, this was unacceptable. But it was college, right? So, like any good daughter, I decided to ignore their unreasonable demands to contact them on a more regular basis. After all, calls mainly consisted of a seemingly benign comment about the weather back in Chicago before a full-out assault was launched concerning my grade status in each of my classes, why I wasn’t getting more involved in school activities and why I had decided not to come home for fall break after all. As fun as these conversations were, I desperately tried to avoid them, as they conflicted greatly with my otherwise relaxing, and carefree days.

Little did I know that my negligence would have a damaging long-term effect that came in the form of the beloved “parents to freshmen” section of Student Life. One night after coming back to the dorm from Ursa’s, I was surprised to find a tattered Student Life thrown onto my bed. Confused, and admittedly a bit disgusted, I turned to my roommate who offered a quick explanation: “Oh, one of your friends dropped that off for you a few minutes ago,” she said with a slight grin. Obviously, she had already read it, and now I was a bit alarmed at what story or picture that paper could possibly contain. I ran over to the bed and looked at the open page. In the treasured “parents to freshmen” section was a special message of my own: Among the many inspirational quotes provided by the other parents, the “words of advice,” the encouragements, the “I’m so proud of yous,” was an admonition by my parents to call home. Unbelievable. I was so mad at this breach of the home/school wall that I rebelled by refusing to call them for another two weeks. My friends, however, took a sinister pleasure out of my sufferings and never failed to occasionally bring back the lovely memories surrounding this event throughout the rest of the year.

Thankfully though, after “the incident,” my plan to live freshman year free of commitments and expectations went relatively unscathed. Admittedly, I almost relapsed second semester by going to a Habitat for Humanity meeting, but soon after, I immediately resorted back to my sluggish ways and can honestly say that I had an amazing year.

Caitlin Brady is a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences and can be reached by e-mail at [email protected].

Welcome to Washington University. You begin your undergraduate careers at a time of profound institutional reflection and a discussion that-like much of what you will experience in the next four yearsñwill be both specific and abstract. This announcement, then, is a welcome both into a community of scholars and into an exciting conversation about the very nature and purpose of that community.

Since its founding the United States has always assumed an essential connection between the values and ambitions of a free society and the work of higher education. Throughout his presidency George Washington recognized this interdependency and urged the creation of a national university. Following his own tenure in the executive office, Thomas Jefferson devoted his remaining years to the creation of the University of Virginia as a model of higher education appropriate for a republic. For more than two centuries the special relationship between colleges and universities and democracy has been reaffirmed in a multitude of ways, and in periods of crisis and transition has been a subject of much consideration. Whether in calls for expanded efforts in science and technology during the Cold War or in the GI Bill’s dramatic expansion of educational access that followed World War II, the fates of freedom and the broadening implications of democracy have been regarded as inextricable from our conception and implementation of advanced teaching and learning.

In this opening decade of the 21st century, with new challenges in virtually every aspect of our lives, it is again time to renew the discussion of the University’s role in a free society. As a citizen of a particular city and a particular nation as well as a global community, how does it (or how do we) address and reconcile these often complicated and sometimes conflicted responsibilities and partnerships in a manner consistent with our educational mission?

Washington University’s Democracy and Citizenship Initiative will be a year-long effort (involving faculty, students, administrators, and staff) to better understand American higher education’s relationship to the values and ambitions of a free society and, more specifically, to examine the meaning of citizenship for Washington University in its relationship with the greater St. Louis community, the nation and the world. This will be a University-wide project, one involving self-reflection as we consider the particular nature of our institution and the responsibilities and opportunities we face. An important part of this exploration will be an ongoing consideration of our relationship with the city and locale that have helped sustain us for more than 150 years, as well as with the nation whose democratic ideals rely on a commitment to education. Universities face the double challenge of educating citizens and of being a citizen with responsibilities to the society of which we are so intrinsically a part. At the same time we are also an important link between these communities and the larger world-in teaching and scholarship but also through our institutional partnerships. The challenge of being part of such differing constituencies with obligations to each requires us to consider who we are as a university and how that identity influences each of these relationships.

During the 2008-09 academic year we will attempt-through committees and discussion groups, conferences and other events-to engage as much of the University community as possible and through this year-long conversation to identify the key issues that we face, while establishing an agenda for the years to come.

Washington University is not alone in recognizing this as a critical moment for American higher education; colleges and universities around the country have begun a variety of projects to consider the social and educational challenges of our time, to think anew about the nature of our academics and the missions we pursue. The meaning of the Liberal Arts, the interaction of science and society, the nature of institutional citizenship and many related subjects being discussed on campuses across America. For these considerations to be most helpful they must be specific to particular institutional circumstances and visions. The Initiative on Democracy and Citizenship imagines that the conversations to take place at Washington University in the coming academic year will be about Washington University, a reflection on our sense of purpose and our community and yet-with the very specificity such an approach requires-will contribute to a larger discussion concerning the future of higher education in a free society.

We welcome ideas and participants. Please feel free to e-mail.

Wayne Fields is a professor in the College of Arts & Sciences and can be reached by e-mail at [email protected].

I am writing this article while sitting in my office listening to music and avoiding the work I have to do. I am an intern in the Office of Student Activities and one of my projects is to create a master list of co-curricular involvement opportunities for students on campus.

“Involvement” is a very broad idea, but it will define a significant portion of the experience you have here. Academic excellence is certainly the most important goal you should have as a Washington University student, but your tenure here should be summed up by more than your degree and the amount of tuition paid. Your experience should be a priceless era that you will be continually engaged in for years and years to come.

My advice is to let your exploration of Wash. U. be guided by two questions. What skills and abilities do you want to gain from your experience here? What impact do you want to leave on the campus community and the larger Wash. U. legacy? As you continue on over the next four years, keep asking those questions. The answers may change, and that’s okay.

When I first came to Wash. U., I knew I wanted to do more than just go to class, but I wasn’t sure what I was passionate about. In situations like this, some students tend to do nothing, and others, like myself, tend to do too much. I got over-involved very quickly. Within the first semester of my freshman year, I was the treasurer of a student group, a member of the Orientation Executive Board, the host and contributing editor of a television show, and a full-time student in my spare time.

The story of my freshman year is a testament to how easy it is for freshmen to get involved, but it is also an example of what can happen when you don’t intentionally guide your experience by asking the important questions. I was passionate about being a leader, so I led. I wasn’t necessarily passionate about what I was doing, so I led others and myself with no direction. I wish I would have taken my time to think carefully about what I wanted to get out of being involved on campus.

You may have been a leader in high school, and may assume that you should continue to do whatever activities you participated in. You may have been solely committed to your academic pursuits and may think that you won’t have time to study for college classes and do other things. Whether I’ve described you or not, throw all of your assumptions out of the window. Take a minute to discover what you’re passionate about and begin your journey as a Wash. U. student.

You may go on to become a student group leader, start a community service organization, conduct published research, become class president, a teaching assistant or something I haven’t listed. “Involvement” is a necessary component of being a Wash. U. student, but you should carefully pursue it so that both you and what you’re involved in benefit from the experience. Take a moment to find your passion, and everything from selecting a major to shaping your legacy will become a lot easier.

Jeff Nelson is a junior in Arts & Sciences and Student Union Vice President of Administration. He can be reached by e-mail at [email protected].