The College Chat Center

[NinjaBaker]

haha. So basically... this is a spot for all those college kids to rant/rave about college.
In all of its aspects.

Regardless of what year you are in during your college (undergrad or grad school) career, you are welcome here.

Feel free to rant/rave about:
-Campus
-Food
-Roommates (provided we don't know them!)
-courses
-textbook prices (AMEN!!!)
-other college stuff including but not limited to SaxGirl's favorite subject: the idiocracy(?) of college students and campuses full of party.

Obviously... be mature. (lol) and realize that some discretion needs to be had, since non-college students could potentially be reading this. Don't want to pollute their minds TOO much... ;D

[Duel of the Flutes]

Well, I will be the first to post, I suppose.

I just found out my roomate's from GERMANY. How rad is that?!

[NinjaBaker]

Wow Duel!! Thats awesome!
lol, my first year I got a roommate from Pennsylvania. Now I have a roommate from about two hours away from me. And she's in my major. incidentally... *ahem* we get along rather... nicely.
I'm so excited to get back to school and start decorating my door. We're putting up rainbow tube lights all around the room to try and reduce the dimness that comes with a large room.

[spacermase]

I have to say, I'm getting kind of frustrated with my peer group's obsession with alcohol. I know, it's part of the college student experience, but a bunch of the people in my internship program (and with whom I'm living this summer during my internship) just finished a game of beer pong in our living room, and apparently are going to go out and get even more drunk. They did this last night as well, and in fact have been doing it pretty frequently throughout the summer, despite the fact that we all have to be at work (at NASA!!) by 8 AM tomorrow.

Incidentally, they're all heavy smokers as well, so the only thing I can figure is that the fact that they're mortal/not indestructible hasn't really dawned on them yet.

[NinjaBaker]

I hear ya on that one.
I got continually frustrated with my floor (rather... my dorm)'s participation in the "college drinking" obsession last year.
Now, its none of my business who drinks and who doesn't... but getting woken up at 230 in the morning AT LEAST ONE TIME A WEEK by a fire alarm because someone put a plastic bowl in the oven/burned popcorn/smoked weed/pulled the alarm because they were drunk/stoned/all of the above got a little annoying. (This got REALLY annoying when it was winter and it was cold, and/or if I had someone over. or if I was in the shower.) Oh, and the drunk people who'd wander the halls, knocking on doors trying to find someone got annoying too.
I swear, my dorm had a police officer ASSIGNED to it because there were so many incidents. A cruiser practically lived outside my dorm after dark.
of course... I lived in The Projects, for lack of a better term. and if JMU had a Mob, it'd be operating out of the building I lived it, what with all the drug trafficking that went on.
Thank goodness I lived on the first floor.

*phew* that was a good rant, and dont even get me started on my actual dorm building.

[KUguardgrl13]

hey guys, i'm the (nearly) innocent freshman!! just found out my roommate's going to rush a sorority. not excited for when the big sisters break into our room in the middle of the night for some good old initiation.

[Greenepony]

^Never heard of the sororities doing that. During Pledge Week some dropped baskets of goodies at the front desk or at the door but that's it. Of course my exposure to greek/panhellenic/etc has been mostly popular ('cept Tri Delts but they just have a reputation here) but it also depends on social v professional v service (I have the most positive experiences with these, though BYX guys are pretty awesome for being social)

Oh drinking, I have to stay away from alcohol, not because I drink but because I get so distraught being around it that I start bawling (not pretty when it's in the middle of the dance floor)... this led to my (legal) boyfriend completely ridding his apartment of any and all forms of alcohol. *sigh* That was a nightmarish weekend. Apparently certain emotional reactions to hormonal imbalances intensified in college (that's a whole 'nother story there, one that would be saved for the Estrogen Circle). What a way to spend my last free weekend of my freshman year.


I'm so sick of my friends that I grew up with complaining that because they didn't date their first year on campus they will never date and grow up to be spinsters.
Has anyone found that Christian Colleges put an unnecessary emphasis on marriage?
Messiah, Liberty, Eastern Mennonite, Baylor... they all seem to be doing this to my friends and I.

[NinjaBaker]

I also have not heard of sororities breaking into the dorms for night-time initiation. I'm pretty sure the RAs at my university would lay some serious smackdown if unauthorized people tried to break in. Actually... I know this to be true.
She'd probably be kidnapped somewhere else. Like walking home from dinner.
Of course, it depends on if she's rushing a service sorority or a social sorority. Generally the service ones are a little more... tame? I know the socials have to pretend to be tame, or they'll be kicked off campus like ALL the fraternities. (sororities have "official" housing on campus, but there can be no organized fraternal housing on campus.)
i'm pretty sure its the tri-Sigs who have the reputation on my campus. A girl on my hall was a part of that and sometimes i wondered how she made it home. Also, pretty sure I called the cops and set my RA on her unfortunately intoxicated friends (they were talking SO LOUD i could hear it though my window. I had an 8am final the next morning, this happened at 2am).
Not surpisingly the music sorority/fraternity parties are... well known for being off the wall.

Greene, I can't believe we're going to be sophomores! the year kinda flew by.

Wait, WHAT. I'd be sick of that kind of complaining too. and in my very limited experience with Christian Colleges (ie I visited Baylor ONCE, and I've seen Eastern Mennonite because its in my college city. Oh and I've seen Liberty too, because I live near there now) I've sort of seen the emphasis on marriage. I mean, I guess they figure you'll meet someone "good" there and grow up to make lots of good little Christian babies? I mean, that's the theory applied to dating in Marching Band too, making little band nerd babies.

[SaxGirl]

Aug 3, 2009 13:08:06 GMT -5 NinjaBaker said:

-other college stuff including but not limited to SaxGirl's favorite subject: the idiocracy(?) of college students and campuses full of party.

Did I mention I like you a lot? ;D

Well, I'm still in the Steel City until the end of August (yeah, I just LOOOOVE our trimester/quarter system, NOT). Though I stay at home later in the summer, it's not as much fun when I'm unemployed, and when all my friends go back to school two weeks before me. I also don't even get out of school until the second week of June, when my friends have been out since early May.

I am looking forward to school this year so much. My only worry is that I've bitten off more than I can chew. I'm now in charge of merchandise for TBΣ, so I'll be in charge of taking uniform orders when the freshmen come to band camp at the end of the month. I will be sleeping, eating, and breathing spats, gloves, and shoes. Add to that the fact that I still want to do stuff like College Republicans, and this leaves me VERY busy.

I ALSO have this year to worry about especially, since it's when I can apply for the graphic design program. This is make or break. After experiencing the hell of the Foundations art classes here, I never want to actually 'study' fine art again. It's my talent and passion, but graphic design is so much more appealing as a career. I love it. So, god forbid I don't make it in, I'll be whining about that and trying my butt off to get in later. At least I don't have to take ANY MORE FOUNDATIONS CLASSES. DONE. FINITO. That fact alone should make this year awesome.

This means:
1. No more having to go to ridiculous measures to buy plastic straws, wire cutters, spray paint, alarm clocks, beads, vests, gift bags, needle nose pliers, hot glue, steel wool, or any other unconventional 'art' supplies to made stupid conceptual art.
2. I might have to get used to Macs. CRAP.
3. NO MORE CONCEPTUAL ART.

I'm also taking Latin for the first time since my senior year of high school... Intermediate Latin, that is, like "you skipped Latin 112, oh snap." I'm starting to worry that that class will crush me since it's technically a mid-level class, but once I get back into it, I should be multa bene.

To address NinjaBaker's call-out of me in the first post, well... uhhh, I guess hooray, but we made #5 on the Princeton Review's Top Party Schools List this year! YAYNOT. Half the people come here so they can get trashed anyhow. I oughta start the Teetotaller Club here.

[NinjaBaker]

lol, I figured you'd appreciate the opportunity to rant.

btw, if you have mac issues... hit me up. I'm slowly getting all used to it. I mean, I'm no genius on the specifics of the programs front, but I do OWN a mac... rather, it owns me. D:

haha, I saw your school on the Princeton Review's list... I wasn't surprised... nor was I surprised about seeing the University of Texas on there. I was surprised that my school wasn't on there. Guess we're too small? Or we hide our issues too well.


This year for me will be terribly busy, considering I'm taking Organic Chem, University Physics (the physics that science majors take), and Calculus 2. Plus a music class. For non-class stuff... I'm the Advertising Committee Chair for my school's gsa (*giggle* yay for absurdly colorful posters), and I'm in charge of taking photos/helping organize social events for my colorguard... sorority? Only we're not really a sorority? Its kinda complicated, cause we're not "officially" recognized as one, but we run it like we are? Whatever, I'm a sister of STI. let the jokes begin.

[SaxGirl]

Aug 4, 2009 10:48:43 GMT -5 NinjaBaker said:

...I'm in charge of taking photos/helping organize social events for my colorguard... sorority? Only we're not really a sorority? Its kinda complicated, cause we're not "officially" recognized as one, but we run it like we are? Whatever, I'm a sister of STI. let the jokes begin.

I would die if I saw someone with a STΔ shirt.

Our drumline made shirts a few years ago, I believe, with their faux fraternity, AΣΣ. Haha. For a minute, I thought it was real, but then realized any fraternity with the Greek letters for "Ass" wouldn't get very far.

[Flutist Kes]

^ Ha, that's awesome. I've always wanted to wear a shirt with my initials in Greek, just cause.

I'm actually in Chi Omega, which is a social sorority. Sororities are NOT ALLOWED to haze. This includes running into a rushee's room at night to wake them up and take them somewhere. If a sorority does this, it can actually get its charter revoked. It's a totally serious issue- all through sorority orientation my group was always told to come forward. If we felt like we were being hazed, we were supposed to call international. So no worries- if they do pull a haze in the middle of the night, just call their office and complain.

[NinjaBaker]

SaxGirl, we almost made STI shirts. But... we decided to just have them say FLOC, because thats the "official name". Maybe I'll get an STI shirt this year.

I'm kinda glad that Hazing is strictly prohibited in the sorority setting. It makes me a lot more relieved for my friends.

[KUguardgrl13]

yeah, i'm not too worried about it. seems like KU's pretty anal about dorm security. i figure she's rushing because i'll be busy with band and she needs something to be busy with too.

[Greenepony]

Aug 4, 2009 21:35:48 GMT -5 Flutist Kes said:

I'm actually in Chi Omega, which is a social sorority.

Unfortunately they have a bit of a reputation as well... at least among stage tech. I don't know any personally so I'm reserving my judgments, unlike Tri-Delts and Fijis, who I've met and seen that they tend to match their reputations. Tau Beta, KPsi, and the music fraternities/sororities are all pretty tame in comparison.


The tenor section made the best shirts last year ΣAX. It took me most of the season to realize that it wasn't an actual Greek thing but just "Sax" (another reason why I'm taking Greek next year.)


The best I can figure with Baylor and the ilk's preference for early marriages is Ninja's guess of continuing the line so to speak. Baylor wants our money and if we have kids, we'll send our kids to Baylor, they'll get married, have more kids, send those kids to Baylor, etc.