3 eG - ARE YOU CONFUSED ? An introduction to newcomers on campus By Don Lane You might be wonder- ing what university life is all about, It is something that you have to live to ex- perience. These are sup- posed to be the best days of your lives - so live up to that ideal. Get If you are confused, don’t worry. It is a natu- ral human state. It is even more natural if you are new to the university. Sc this article is for all you froshi, new vet students, transfer and mature students of all involved: in. some ages. For you are “The aspect of university life be- Confused,” and someday, sides academics. Become “The Confused Shall In- actives" (Bet not...too ’ ac. herit the University”. hive: Peck ave lots ar First Year Is carrying your books in a briefcase... getting lost in your own residence... buying all your books and paying cash... trying to figure out 600 different abbreviations... developing a taste for coffee... learning to hate cafeteria food... trying to tell the registrar what the problem is when you don’t even know... getting five 8:30 classes and not knowing what they are until you get there... getting five 8:30 classes... finding out that labs are only fun the first day... missing a class thinking you'll get the notes later... getting your first student loan... learning profs aren’t all that smart... falling asleep in Duffy Ampitheatre and having your prof wake you up... spending five hours in the library card catalogue to discover all the books are OUT... finding out at 8:30 that the other people came dis- guised as empty chairs... never washing your bedsheets from Sept to December, January to April... having everyone asking you “what are in” and you don’t know... saying you’ll catch up on Sunday... wishing you’d spent all your money on a stereo instead of your clothes... groups, teams and organi- zations that you can join. Most of the academic fac- ulties have their own clubs: business, engineers, psy- chology, vets, chemistry (to name only a few), but there are also special in- terest groups which you can join, such as WUSC (World University Services of Canada), your yearbook (Nexus °88), your cam- pus newspaper (The Gem), student politics, MAPUS, etc... Look in your intro - pamphlets for a complete list, or go to see the in- formation officer or Stu- dent Services (both in the Robertson Library’ Build- ing), the Student Union (in The Barn), or us here at the Gem. We are located in the Utility Building on the lower floor. Any of us can help you out. Check out as many of these groups as you are interested in, but only stick with one or two of them. Remember that you are here for your de- gree first and involvement second. One without the other is a hollow education. The Athletics Depart- ment also has plenty to of- fer those of you who are athletically inclined. You can sign out a wide va- riety of sports equipment from them, and you also have access to the weight room, the gym and the tennis courts. The tennis courts were re-paved over the summer, and are thus in great shape. If you want to know “more about a course that you signed up for, or if you want to learn about all the idiosynchrasies of your niew prof., you'll find that an extensive verbal un- derground calender exigts among many 3rd and 4th year students. Approach them, question them, ha- rass them - they won't bite...well most of them won't, but it’s a risk that you have to take. They have gone through the same period of anxiety that you are going through right now, so they can under- stand your concerns. So, how do you like your first issue of The Gem so far? If you like it, you'll want to be a valu- able part of *The Gem Ma- chine.” If you don’t like it, your unique qualities can help make the paper better - the way you would === like to see it. That's all for now, but remember, in- volvement is the key to suc- cess. a finding out what an all-nighter is and wishing you hadn’t... counting the words in your first essay... JOCKEY 1972 VINTAGE, SLIGHTLY wlZ/9 | nonce) (8% 5 NO,NO,T INSIST-) A GooD RED eS ai ; : I'LL Buy!) _/\| Rosust yer somsicra) you, IMME A SIR? finding out it doesn’t really matter... going to calss all year and never finding out anyone’s name... 2 meeting a lot of great. people... wishing you’d taken a year off... : Lf + (TCH! HOW THE OTHER HALF 10 SAY SHE DROPPED OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL. THEY HAVE. TO SEARCH LIVES, HEY, ED? Ker evans CUT OUT FOR THE HIGH AND Low TO GET ANY. " KIND OF WORK, AT ALL... | ~~~ walking late into the wrong class and having 2veryone Stare at you... having a water fight in the residence or Bio lab... rooming with the youngest alcoholic you’ve ever met... having your mother visit every weekend you've asked Someone to sleep over... learning to knock on doors before you enter... learning to live on pizza and A & W “food”... being broke at Christmas... we 10 YEARS LATER, THEY'RE STILL IN being broke again in February... THE SAME BORING, MINIMUM WAGE, : . You SAID~\TO UNIVE RSITY,)| HONORS YET, BuT THIS IS ALL I A OEAD END JOBS... . es MAKES You GLAD TO BE GOING ACTUALLY, I HAVE A B.Sc., WITH CAN FIND. not having any gloves in the winter... _, finding out you really didn’t love the person you left back home... losing track of your friends back home... finding shaving cream in your bed... Ss = September 10, 1987 ===