The Freshman
The anthropology of Freshmen
Inexplicable behavior and strange lifestyles develop in the land of Freshmen
The culture that’s been developing over the past couple of weeks would be an anthropologist’s dream. From first years voluntarily chugging blended-up Big-Macs to midnight runs around campus reminding other Colleges why we’re better than them, paranormal behavior is normal here.
It’s somewhat more comprehensible when you remember the context of the situation Freshmen find themselves in. When hundreds of 18 year olds move away from home, to a strange city, with strange people, equally strange social dynamics are bound to develop. The inundation of experiences conspire to form a bubble that surrounds campus: a little world consisting entirely, more or less, of going to class, studying, and socializing.
Even for a relative introvert like myself, it’s extremely easy to find yourself partying every night. I have to remind myself now and then to take some time to myself, to recharge my social batteries and to regain perspective on the bizarre microcosm. Unfortunately, gaining perspective rarely simplifies things. In fact, the opposite seems to be true in my case. When I remember that the main reason I’m going to university is to study and earn a degree, questions inevitably arise as to what I want to study and what I want to do with my degree (no, I haven’t by any means decided yet, and neither have half the people here).
Of course, first year is exploratory, but the courses you choose in first year will limit what you can take in later years. Two days before the last date to change courses, I find myself frantically trying to decide whether or not to keep economics (I hate math but enjoy learning the concepts) and whether I want to take a course that will allow me to major in political science (it looks interesting but is misleadingly unscientific and often degradingly referred to as “soft history”). It’s probably needless stress, because I can always take whatever course I need in later years, but right now it seems unquestionably important. And to an extent, it is important to figure these things out because it allows to form a general idea of the path you want your degree to take.
Next: Tips on choosing courses that are right for you
The dawning of an age
As the awkward socializing of Frosh Week ends, the real stuff beings
The whirlwind that is Frosh Week (variously called Orientation Week, First Week, etc), is now officially over. It was certainly an interesting week, meeting dozens of people every day, hearing the same 2 questions over and over (what’s your major, where are you from), staying up ’till at least 3 a.m. every night, sometimes 6. Initial awkwardness (clearly not an issue for this guy) gradually warmed to tepid familiarity and was even heated to boisterous enthusiasm on those rare occasions when the drinks began to flow – responsibly and moderately, of course. Other than the incessant socializing, I signed up for about 10 different clubs, from debate to intramural soccer; learned the requisite school cheers and attended countless orientations and tours.
To celebrate the end of the party and the beginning of university in earnest, a Matriculation Ceremony formally welcomed the class of 2013 to the College, complete with speeches in Latin, formal gowns, and the official signing of the College register by all new students. There were also speeches in English, some of which were quite inspiring. One of them, made by a newly confirmed Honorary Fellow of the College, struck me as particularly pertinent.
He reminded us that attending university in a country like Canada is a privilege and an accomplishment and that with both must come responsibility. As we celebrate the beginning of a new age in our lives, and at the risk of sounding preachy, I think it’s important to remember that us Freshmen (and women!) are indeed in a fortunate position to contribute to society in a positive way.
With that in mind, (a mind forgivably clouded at times, perhaps, by the many distractions a Freshman inevitably encounters), let’s celebrate this dawning of a new age in our lives. At least until the homework starts.
Pick classes with the most girls
Careful analysis might not be the best way to design your university career
I had always planned to take time off after high school to travel and work. I wanted to gain some life experience before deciding what I wanted to study for four years, I suppose because I subscribed to the “major = career” theory. The circumstances at the time didn’t let me do that, and here I am heading straight into university. While I’ve come to understand that your major certainly doesn’t have to equal your career, I still don’t know what I want to study or what kind of career I want to have. And I think taking time off would’ve helped me get a better idea of both of those things. So, if you can, I suggest taking some time off between high school and university.
If that’s not an option, you have to figure out some means of choosing courses (and yes, eventually, a major), that you find interesting and enjoyable and that hopefully lead you to an interesting career.
My method of choice, being an analytical, planner personality type (according to this impressively accurate personality test), has been to carefully consider what kind of lifestyle I want in the future and what kind of work I find rewarding and fulfilling, and to work backwards from there in terms of what kind of jobs offer those things and then what qualifications are needed to get those jobs. Kind of a painstaking process, but it’s the best I’ve been able to come up with.
Despite this reasonably thorough investigation, I still don’t really know what I want. I have a lot of ideas, but there are pieces missing. So, today I went to a professor and businessman I know seeking advice. He leads a lifestyle I think I would enjoy, he works on interesting and important projects, he’s very opinionated, and I respect his judgment very much.
Instead of the careful analysis I expected from a distinguished academic, his advice was refreshingly different, with an understated wisdom that I suppose is often overlooked by us analytical types. Simply, he said, take courses you will enjoy. Take the courses with the most girls in them! It’ll be fun. An undergraduate degree should teach you how to think well and communicate well; the content is less important.
So now I throw these factors into the mix. Follow your interests, have fun, and try to choose courses (or at least sit in on lectures) with professors who have a reputation for the way they think and teach – not necessarily what they teach. Along with a little careful analysis of your own, I think that’s a pretty good balance.
Crossing the country for freedom
Students moving away for university often cite more freedom as a motivator – but what does this really mean?
I write this post from Tofino, B.C., a small surf town on the beautiful west coast of Vancouver Island. I am on a final family holiday before moving across the country to start university at the end of August. One might reasonably assume that I would seize this opportunity to spend quality time with my dad and younger brother, enjoying their soon-to-be-rare company and our incredible surroundings. And yet, this simply hasn’t been the case.
I find myself almost constantly caught up by thoughts of my impending departure and thus very much removed from the present moment. This absence from the moment necessarily impedes my enjoyment of my family and the experience as a whole; obviously not the best way to spend my final days with them, but perhaps excusable given the relative enormity of the change ahead.
This has all lead me to consider what exactly it is about moving away to university that so excites me (and pretty much every other college-bound friend I know). What, truly, are the differences between living with and without your parents, and why are they so appealing?
The obvious answer, of course, is more freedom, but this too begs further investigation. Freedom to do what? At this point, most somewhat reasonable 18-year-olds I know enjoy the trust of their parents enough that they are allowed to do pretty much everything they want. So again, freedom to do what?
A concept that keeps coming up in discussion with fellow soon-to-be- as well as current university students is a desire to re-invent oneself. Of course, our parents aren’t forbidding us from doing this now, but the freedom that comes with moving away to a place where you don’t know (many) people makes re-inventing oneself a lot easier.
Before I go any further, I think it’s important to clarify that a desire to “re-invent yourself” need not carry a negative association with low self-esteem or an explicit dissatisfaction with your current self. To me, it represents a recognition that any negative behavioral trends or patterns are much easier to correct (at the same time as putting new emphasis on those traits you like) when surrounded with people who don’t already expect you to behave a certain way – and this is a good thing. This is what I think that notion of freedom ultimately means – a fresh start – and this is pretty exciting.
So as the countdown to move-in day begins, I’ll keep this in mind as I try to stay present and enjoy the last days with my family, friends, and old self.
BC government cuts $16 million in education funding
Last-minute cuts incense hundreds of students
It’s understandable that in tough economic times, governments will make funding cuts. The BC government’s latest $16m cut to education funding, however, is completely inexcusable.
Not only is it in clear violation of the BC Liberals’ May election platform promise (p. 26) to “maintain this year’s funding levels for student aid,” but according to BC MLA Gary Coons, “the Campbell government delayed telling students the programs had been cancelled… in order to hide the cuts until after the election.”
Indeed, several students who applied for the March deadlined Premier’s Excellence Award – a $15,000 scholarship awarded to the top high school students in the province – recently telephoned the Ministry of Advanced Education requesting the results of their applications. They were told that the judging process was complete and that the winners would be notified shortly.
When the news came that the scholarship was eliminated, most students, including myself, reasonably assumed that this year’s winners would still receive their awards and that the program would cease to exist next year. Alas, this was not the case.
After several phone calls to various government representatives, it has been confirmed that the program will be eliminated immediately, meaning even those students who applied and were apparently selected as recipients this year are out of luck.
This failure to notify students before they spent hours applying for the scholarship – or at least before they spent months anxiously awaiting the results – has been met with understandable outrage.
Other cuts include eliminating the Nurses Education Bursary at a time when the province is in dire need of more nurses, as well as the:
Permanent Disability Benefits
Debt Reduction in Repayment
BC Loan Reduction for Residential Care Aid and Home Support Worker
Health Care Bursary
Early Childhood Educator Loan Assistance
Being yourself is important… and maybe impossible
Important – and extremely challenging – advice for Freshman (and everyone else)
I gave a speech last week to the graduating class of my elementary school. Along with their teachers and principal, I imparted to them the best advice I could as they enter high school, a big, scary place full of countless insecure kids trying to fit in and be “cool.” Don’t conform, I said, be yourself: it’s the only option anyway. Get involved in something you’re interested in, I encouraged; you’ll meet interesting people and enjoy good experiences!
Afterwards, I realized that this advice is actually just as pertinent for graduating high school students entering university. I think this realization probably came about as my entire family gives me pretty much the same suggestions. And the more I think about it, the more important these suggestions seem. I like to consider myself pretty independent and therefore largely free from the influence of peer pressure, but it turns out that such pressure is often subconscious and therefore beyond our control.
In the 1950’s, a psychologist named Solomon Asch conducted an experiment in which he asked a group of 6 people to pick one of three lines displayed on a screen that was the same length as a line on a card they were given. Obviously an easy task, everyone quickly agreed on the correct answer – every time. But when 5 of the people were secretly told to intentionally choose the wrong answer, the last person went along with their obviously incorrect response nearly one-third of the time!*
This experiment illustrates how willing people are to conform to a group – even when they can obviously see that the group is wrong. There is even recent research suggesting that in these instances people are using the perceptual part of their brain, indicating that if other people appear to see things one way, we might actually see them that way too and not just be saying we do.
That’s a bit of a scary thought for anyone, especially those entering a new, unfamiliar phase of life, be it high school, university or a new job. It should encourage all of us to stay keenly aware of how our behavior is affected by others. The implications are greater than you might expect…
To be continued!
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*From Nudge by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein (2008).
Academia, here I come!
Solving humanity’s problems, one researcher at a time
I just spent the day at the University of British Columbia. I was meeting with a professor who does research in environmental policy, something I’m particularly interested in. We had a fascinating discussion about how the recent rise in popularity of “going green” provides many opportunities for businesses and governments to capitalize on the trend. This can be done while actually having a positive effect on the environment, rather than simply perpetuating the largely tokenistic “lifestyle changes” already being encouraged: driving a hybrid, turning down the heat a couple degrees, etc.
His job is basically to analyze complex and pertinent problems facing humanity and come up with innovative solutions. And there are 4,000 similar faculty members at a big school like UBC, all with their own fields of specialization but all with essentially the same noble pursuit of knowledge. As my professor insisted: “Ninety percent of what we think we know is wrong.”
That’s where academia comes- trying to figure out where we went wrong and how to put it right.
Later that day I attended a lecture in UBC by a Nobel Chemistry laureate, entitled “Challenges facing human society in the 21st century.” Here was yet another example of the ongoing discussion and debate between academics in all disciplines concerning the state of the world and how best to improve it.
After the lecture, as I was riding my bike home through the good-sized town that is UBC, I began to get excited about my own imminent plunge into academia. In just over two months I will find myself in the midst of the largest academic instituion in the country, and I’ll be joining over 60,000 other individuals who are constantly engaged in and surrounded by this exciting and important research and dialogue.
I can’t wait.
- photo courtesy of the Library of Congress
Caution: Facebook groups
Opinions should always be taken with grain of salt. Sometimes two.
I held out for a long time before finally succumbing to the Facebook plague.
I finally broke down and signed up last year, after the rest of my friends had been enjoying it for years. I harboured some ill-defined notions of how Facebook brought the superficiality and conformity of high school to another level, how it facilitated gossip and cyber-bullying, how it was yet another sign of our society’s shift away from genuine human interaction, marked more recently by the Telus ad campaign urging us to check Facebook from our phone on the bus, in line, in cabs.
And yet, I too finally conformed, ultimately drawn by the ease of staying in touch with far-flung friends.
It has indeed proved to be a useful tool lately, at least for meeting soon-to-be classmates. I joined the Class of 2013 Facebook groups for the three schools I was considering: Bishop’s, McGill, and Trinity College at U of T. Discussing various topics and “meeting” people in these forums does indeed give you a general feel for the place, although it is almost certainly misleading.
While I have admittedly found myself concerned, my opinions changed, my decisions second-guessed by what people say in these groups, I have to remind myself how ridiculous it is to shift my perception of an entire university by what one or two people think.
Sure, those voices can sometimes be a sign of a larger, more noteworthy trend, but opinions must always be taken with a grain of salt; two if it’s on Facebook.
- photo courtesy of Christopher Walker
Hello, my name is Noah…
This year’s Freshman is a Vancouver native, and he’s heading to U of T
“The hard work makes the man, not the school he goes to.”
This wise piece of advice, which I recently received, is relevant in more ways than meets the eye during this time of transition from high school to university. It places the onus squarely on the individual to pursue their goals, to achieve their desires, to become the person they want to be.
As high school students, this wasn’t always the message. Even if it wasn’t explicitly stated, there were pressures from parents, from peers, even from teachers, to behave a certain way, to pursue certain interests, to be a certain someone. Now, leaving home, parents, and friends, these pressures fade.
Of course, new pressures are bound to emerge, but it is now up to us to deal with them on our own, to meet these new freedoms and responsibilities and make what we will of them, all the while negotiating through a sea of other egos and personalities all grasping for a foothold. Interesting times.
Throughout the coming school year, I will be documenting these interesting times as I experience them at the University of Toronto. Until then, I join the legions of other high school graduates finishing up final exams, signing yearbooks, wrapping up childhood and preparing for the next chapter. I look forward to sharing the experience with you.
