Talk To A Freshman

Seasoned students on Planet College have developed an efficient approach to getting through. Getting through registration, getting through a class, getting though a test, getting through the line at the food court. Planet College can be said to be about getting through. Which is why this post my seem surprising. This week or during the course of your busy schedule some time soon talk to a freshman. To many this will seem abhorrent, freshmen being the pariah of the social structure on most Planet College Campuses. But. There is a reason for this suggestion. Find a freshman, right now there are probably a few doing motocross on their fixies in and out of the founders fountain in front of the admin building. Well, you know where they are. The approach is going to be tricky unless you already know one but straight forward will probably work well. Just walk up to one, introduce yourself and say," Got time to talk?" Once they get past that you might be a nark or gay (or a gay nark) they may say "Yeah." If they do, ask them about themselves. How they got to your school, if they have a major, what their classes are like so far. Stuff like that. Then. Just listen. Really listen, because this is the point of this post. Listen very carefully. What you are likely to hear is a great deal of energy, a great deal of enthusiasm and absolutely no sense. Make the conversation brief, you do have things to do. Thank them who ever they are and move on.
Later. Reflect on their conversation and remember at one time, maybe not so long ago, you were bursting with energy, full of enthusiasm and really pretty nuts too. The value of this small encounter is to show you that through all of the daily drudgery and ups and downs of your career you have come a long, long way on Planet College.

Rock The Vote.

Progress on Planet College usually includes a growing awareness of the larger world around us. Larger in fact than typical day-to-day student life encompasses.An increasing awareness of life probably by now includes an increasing awareness of the political factors influencing your life. In the USA, the country where this site is maintained, elections occur regularly, particularly around this time of year. Their varying character include local, state and national elections which encompass every position from animal control officer to president. Your opportunity to influence these factors is characterized by an organization called Rock The Vote. Information about them is available at www.rockthevote.com . Look into them. One important thing they may help you determine is where you are eligible to vote. If you are residing somewhere other than your permanent mailing address, and many, many students are, you will need to determine where you are eligible to vote. Find out when and where you can vote and what you have to do to effectively do so. It is your future.

Easy A

Myths, dreams, rumors and gossip persist on Planet College. In fact they may be said to be the essential stuff of daily student interactions. One such persistent myth is the myth of the Easy A.

You've heard it. "Hey. It's an easy A." Maybe you've followed through. Was it? Safe bet there was a little more to it than "easy" might indicate. Still this myth is so sturdy that recently a film maker has chosen Easy A for a title.

Easy A. Catchy, seductive and fictional. The movie it self capitalizes on the myth of the Easy A to explore other areas of student interaction. Still more fantasy. Attractive, appealing, intriguing and diverting. That is what fantasy is for. Especially film fantasy. For a few bucks and a couple of hours we are taken away to yet another world even more fantastic than Planet College.

When it is over we resume the day-to-day drudgery of slugging out our schedule on the way to a degree, a career and dealing with student debt. (But that's another planet.)

Meantime this fantasy serves a useful purpose. But don't confuse movie titles with the facts of Planet College. There are very, very few Easy As. Very few.