Chris

One thing I will never forget about BU happened last year during finals time. During finals, the Mugar Library is open 24/7, and many students take advantage of this time to get some actual studying done. For me, I can't study at home, especially now that I live off campus and I'm 21--far too many distractions. I was here until the early hours of the morning several times, and I started to notice a certain girl who was always in the same spot on the second floor. She always looked disheveled and nervous, flipping through notes frantically, making flashcards, highlighting textbooks, etc. It was on about my third night in the library during finals period that I noticed the smell. There was a cloud of odor around this poor girl that was like gym socks and wet hamster. As I left at around 2 that morning, I saw some purple fabric poking out from underneath the table where the smelly girl had formerly been sitting--she brought a sleeping bag, and spent literally 24 hours a day during study periods in the library! It wasn't like she had chosen a particularly inconspicuous spot, either; she was right in the middle of the main hallway!

I understand trying to get some studying done, but is it really necessary to camp out in the library? BU is really not THAT academically challenging. At least she could've bathed...

I am a double-major in English and psychology, and I have to say that I prefer the way the English department operates. They have small classes and faculty that, aside from being simply passionate about and good at what they do, have a genuine interest in teaching. You can tell when they are in class that they want to be there, and English professors are I've found the most consistently available for office hours, to discuss and revise assignments, etc. Granted, this might have something to do with the small size of the school and the nature of the topics, but the system definitely works for me. I also like the flexibility of an English major at BU. There is a system of required courses, and some specific classes that you need to take (none of them insufferable) but for the most part a range of topics and course numbers is available, and you are able to pick those classes that most interest you. In one semester I took one class on the Contemporary American Novel (the main requirement for a book to make the reading list was that its author be still alive) and individual author courses on Emerson and Milton. I loved them, and the professors definitely brought the class to life with their passion about their subjects.

Without personal experience it's hard for me to contrast this experience to other schools, but I've had friends from the College of Engineering for example tell me that they weren't even able to consider studying abroad because of the number of required classes and the frequency at which they were offered. One missed class put her off schedule, and she had to take summer classes just to get back up to par.

I have had some experience the past few years working with two BU theater groups, Stage Troupe and BU On Broadway. The former does primarily straight stage shows and the latter musicals, and I've worked for both mainly in a technical capacity. I've worked construction before, and enjoy building things. There is nothing quite like being there from the moment a set is designed all the way through the construction, erection, painting and decoration process, and then watching how the actors use the space you've built to put on a show. Both of these groups have tremendously talented membership, and Stage Troupe has the resources and facilities to put up some very technically challenging shows. I have loved working with both organizations, and have met some of my best friends through these activities. I think it's something about working side by side with people until 3 AM trying to level a set of doors or something--by the end you're either going to love them or you'll hate them. With Troupe and OB, chances are you'll have made a friend.

I believe I am typical of many students at BU in saying that some of my most enduring friendships were formed freshman year while living in the Warren Towers residence hall (the second largest non-military dorm in the country, as they never tire of telling you on tours). My floor just seemed to mesh from the beginning of the year, and it was definitely the kind of place where doors were open and people were in and out of each other's rooms all the time. We drank together, played cards together (in particular the card game Mafia, generally at around 2 AM in the common room after everyone got home--we may have gotten a few noise complaints), watched movies and sports; I'll never forget when the Red Sox won the world series in 2004 and we crowded into a corner room, shifting our attention from the news on TV to the real scene right before our eyes before deciding to venture outside and see the riot. I lived with six other guys from that floor my sophomore year, and have continued to split an apartment with one of them ever since. We've never really lost touch, and I think that's one of the benefits of the larger dormitory-style residences. There are simply so many people to meet--even if your floor doesn't come together like mine did, there are 17 floors in each of 3 towers. That's a lot of people, and definitely one of the perks of going to such a big school.

Aside from the fact that BC seems to think we're full of their rejects (can't ditch that "safety school" chant and hockey games) I think BU gets a bad rap for being home of the JAPs, the WASPs, and other rich white stereotypes that don't have acronyms. I didn't even know what either of those terms meant before I came to BU. I guess the impression is one of spoiled or entitled rich kids, a stereotype you can definitely see by reading The Weekly Dig or the Phoenix and reading their complaint sections.

To a certain extent yes I suppose they are. There are people who get dolled up for class like they're going to a club, and many of these same people drive their Beemers to class. I once heard it said that you know you go to BU when half of the class is on 75% financial aid while the other half could buy their own island country. This is probably a stretch--I'd say less than 25% of BU students are capable of purchasing an island. As with anything, it's all in who you chose to associate yourself with. You can hang out with the real, interesting people that go here, or you can surround yourself with douchebags.

Something that I think is lacking in BU presently is a sense of activism or civic duty. We're living in such a contentious time and yet there is hardly any political presence on campus. I don't think I've seen more than a handful of protest-type events since I've been here, and issues of national or international importance are seldom discussed on a large forum. I understand that there are many things going on, but the Greenpeace petitioners freezing their asses off outside CAS shouldn't be the only people with a mission and a message out there. I think we need to take our power as students more seriously, whether it be to campaign for the next president or protest international violence or domestic torture or whatever the cause. We have a shitload of voices here, and I feel like all that's lacking is people and passion to rally those voices to do something good.